Learning Experience
by Charlieboyyy
Summary: Love is not fast and sudden. It doesn't just hit one day. It's slow and takes time to grow, taking even more time to realize it's even there. This is just a story about the process that Takeru and Hikari undergo in order to realize that love. COMPLETE!
1. It could never work

My first digimon fanfic… it's a takari plz read and review! Appreciate it a lot! the more reviews, the faster I'll come out with the story. Just not sure if anyone would like this story….thanks!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Digimon.

Chapter 1

" No way! I was not. You lie." Takeru exclaimed.

Hikari giggled. "Nope. You were totally shorter than me. Even ask all the others; you were the shortest one on the team."

"Nuh uh. You were shorter than me Hikari!" The blonde continued to protest. " I remember because I was finally glad we found someone I could look after."

It was a cold winter day in Odaiba. Snow was spread all over the ground as result from the light snow they had received the night before. Most people were inside as it was too cold to play in the outdoor. However, for Takeru and Hikari, it was a weather they had adjusted to and grown to enjoy; with not too many people out, it was a time of solitude and peace as the two digidestined walked in Odaiba Park.

"Takeru." Hikari said with a smile. "You were only taller than me because of that green hat you wore all the time. That thing gave you an inch more!"

Her counterpart shook his head. "That's just an excuse. I was taller than you, Hikari. You know it."

"Want to ask the others? I'm sure they'll agree with me."

"There's no need. I already know the answer."

"Then why do you lie to yourself so much?" She asked sweetly.

"What!" The young boy frowned and turned his head the other way. Seeing this, the brunette giggled. She then left his side and got in front of her best friend as they continued to walk. She searched for eye contact, continuing to giggle.

"Takeru…don't take it too hard. Look how tall you are now."

He eventually made eye contact with her and then sighed. "I know… but it would be comforting to know I wasn't the shortest member on the team."

As they continued their walk, the blonde couldn't help but think of the past.

The two were referring to their past they shared as the original digidestined. On the squad, Takeru and Hikari were by far the youngest, being only eight years old at the time. But being the youngest, Takeru had the fondest memories of their adventures, especially memories with Hikari. It was through their experience together as younglings that enforced their strong bond they had as best friends. To further enhance the friendship, the two were also a part of the new digidestined formed when the Digimon Emperor threatened the Digital World. Of course, that was long ago and the threat to both the Digital World and the Real World had ended with the defeat of MaloMyotismon. Now, two years had passed with nothing but peace and tranquility filling the air for the digidestined. Despite the long tenure, the digidestined, new and old, still maintained a strong bond between each other as they constantly kept in contact as friends. For the digidestined of Hope, it was more than he could've asked for.

"What are you thinking about?" His thoughts were broken up by the sudden question from the girl next to him.

"Nothing…just about our past. Our memories."

"Hmm…I do that a lot too. Can you believe we're already in high school?"

Takeru chuckled. "Yeah…we're getting so old. It seems like only a couple days ago when Sora asked me to watch over you during our fight with Piedmon."

The brunette looked up at her best friend with a smile. "You're starting to sound like an old grandpa."

"I know. It's weird huh?"

The two reached an ice pond as they stopped to admire the scenery around them. Or rather, one of them admired the scenery around them.

"Gosh, Hikari… I don't understand why you love the winter so much." The blonde complained as he blew into his hands to gather some warmth.

" Aw… don't be such a baby. It's so _beautiful._ Enjoy the view!"

"Summer is way better than winter."

"Summer's too noisy. Too many people."

"Winter's too _cold_. Look at my hands!" Takeru pulled out his hands in emphasis.

His best friend giggled. "You _knew_ we were going to walk today, Takeru! You should've brought gloves!"

"I didn't know we were going to be out here _this _long!" The young man had a point; they were out for almost three hours, doing nothing but walking. Normally, he wouldn't mind but the temperature was dropping as the day faded away.

"Let me see your hands." He gave her his hands as she placed her hands over them. A sudden chill ran up his spine as he pulled his hands away.

"Ow! Your hands are always cold, Hikari! You know that!"

The girl sighed. "I know. I can't help it; I have cold hands. Taichi complained about it before. But it's something I cant control."

"I'm not blaming you for having cold hands. I'm accusing you of knowing that beforehand and then trying to touch my hands!" Takeru objected.

"I thought maybe…" She didn't finish her sentence as she shrugged.

Sensing a tension, the blonde laughed. "I'm kidding, Hikari. Here." He offered his hands. "Keep them warm for me."

The fourteen year old girl shook her head but he wouldn't take 'no' as an answer as he kept his hands out in the cold, in front of her face.

She raised an eyebrow. "You know your hands are getting colder right?"

The blonde's teeth started chattering. "That's why _you _need to keep them warm…"

The girl couldn't help but giggle at her best friend's attempt to cheer her up. "Oh Takeru…" She reached out and started caressing his hands with hers.

Despite the sudden chill he felt, he let her continue. True, she did have cold hands but he decided that it was worth the cold to keep Hikari happy.

They continued this for a couple more minutes before Takeru nodded in contentment. "Thanks Hikari."

"No problem." She replied with a smile. She then averted her attention to the frozen pond in front of them. She took out her camera and started taking pictures.

"It's so…pretty. Don't you think?" She asked the blonde boy.

"Yeah. It is pretty." He looked down at her as she took pictures. In his opinion, he couldn't have been any luckier to have a best friend like Hikari. She was always there for him and understood him so well; it was almost like she was meant for him. In any bind he was in, he could relate it with her because he knew she would understand. She had such a sweet and genuine personality that made her extremely likeable with anyone she meant. Also, it didn't help that she was one of the prettiest girls Takeru knew. With light brown hair shoulder length and big crimson eyes that displayed such flashes of emotions, it was hard for him to place her as only his best friend.

But he knew the line had to be there. The one thing that strained him so much is that because they were such good friends, he wouldn't dare do anything that would jeopardize their friendship. At first, he had a hard time accepting the fact they would be no more than best friends; all those journeys they shared, the experiences they underwent, young and old, he held with a deep secret: for the longest time, he had a crush on the brunette. From the time they were young eight year olds with nothing in common except that they were digidestined and their brothers were good friends, to their final battle with MaloMyotismon, Takeru was deeply interested in Hikari. But after a great deal of thinking and maturation, he realized the best thing was to keep it at a friendship basis. He was afraid that if he decided to take it further, he would ultimately ruin everything they worked hard for. So, as time flew by, he learned to suppress his emotions and keep them at bay.

Still, every once in a while, he would wonder what it would be like if he was going out with Hikari. A blissful experience maybe? A wonderful moment in his life perhaps? He could only dream.

"It's getting kind of cold." The brunette exclaimed as she finished taking pictures.

It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. "Took you this long to realize that?"

She giggled. "I know. I'm not human."

As he opened his mouth to reply, he suddenly slipped on unexpected ice on the ground. Before he knew it, he was on his back, looking up at the grey sky. He heard laughter ringing throughout the park as he pulled himself up in a hurry.

"You're so graceful. Now I understand why you're such a basketball star." Hikari said while still laughing.

Takeru grinned childishly. "Well, You know me. I love to be the center of attention."

The brunette's laughter died down to chuckling. "Hmm…You do. Hey, don't you feel different?"

Takeru had no idea what she meant. He looked at her confusingly as she tip-toed to pat the top of his messy blonde hair. His eyes bulged as the realization hit him.

" My hat!" He looked around to see where his trademark fisherman hat went.

"Honestly, I don't know why you wear that hat so much. Nor why it's so important to you. You freak out when-"

"AHHHH! WHERE'S MY HAT???!!!" Takeru cut her off as he frantically kept searching. Being over-dramatic, his best friend couldn't help but sigh at the sight.

"Takeru…You know, it's just a hat. It's not like--"

"Urgh! How could I lose it after falling?! It should be right here right??? Is it underneath the snow?" The Odaiba High basketball star ignored his friend as he continued his search, forcing Hikari to sigh once again. She then showed what was in her right hand the whole time. Takeru looked up as his face brightened.

"My hat!"

"Uh huh. Your hat. Your precious…hat." Hikari stated with sarcasm.

"You were hiding it this whole time? Oh wow, Hikari. You're in big trouble now, young lady…"

"What are you going to do about it?" The girl asked sweetly.

"Hmm…Do you remember that one time when we were in Primary Village and you took my backpack away from me as a practical joke?"

"Yeah…You yelled and complained and then you--" Hikari's eyes widened as she came to realization as to where the conversation was leading to. She quickly started to run but it was too late; Takeru had already grabbed onto her jacket and started tickling the poor girl. Laughing hysterically and uncontrollably, the brunette could do nothing as she tried with all her might to be released. Finally prying away from his hands, she made a run for it as the blonde chased after her, laughing along with her. He laughed even more when the usually graceful girl tripped and fell into a pile of snow.

Takeru toppled over with laughter as his best friend got out of the snow and had snow all over her body. She pouted as she tried to get the snow out of her hair.

"It's so cold!"

The young blonde was still laughing. "What you get for taking my hat and scaring me like that."

"Takeru! Stop laughing!"

But he couldn't; it just kept coming out as his face started to turn red and he was short of breath. Looking at the faces her best friend was making, Hikari couldn't help but laugh too. After minutes of nothing but laughter ringing across the park, the two slowly calmed down.

"Well, I would say that was interesting." Hikari stated.

Takeru grinned. "Yeah. That was. Want to go home? It's dark."

"Yeah. Taichi is going to kill me if I'm home too late."

"I'll walk you."

"You sure? Isn't it out of your way?"

The blonde gave a charming smile. "I got to make sure you don't fall into a pile of snow again."

Hikari giggled. "And I'll make sure you don't slip on ice and hit your head."

As the two walked to her house, a moment of silence passed between the two of them. Luckily, they were so close that moments of silence didn't make it awkward for them; they actually felt comfortable with each other through it.

"When's your basketball game tomorrow?" The brunette asked, breaking the quietness.

The blonde groaned. "Oh man. I forgot." He scratched his head. "It's after school at the gym."

" You going to score thirty points again, Mr. Star?" Hikari asked playfully.

"Nah. I got lucky last time. I'll be lucky to score ten in this one."

"You _always_ say that."

"It's true." He said with a smile.

"I'm assuming your usual fan club will be there?" The girl asked slyly.

The blonde laughed as they reached the front of Hikari's door. "As long as you're there, I don't care."

The brunette squeezed Takeru's hand in response as her smile got bigger.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yeah."

"Ok. Good night Takeru." She wrapped her arms around Takeru's neck and hugged him, a normal gesture between the two of them. Only this time, it lasted longer than the others. They continued to hold on to each other, as if not wanting to let go. Takeru kept holding on, picking up on the scent of sweet strawberries from her delicate skin. Finally, they broke contact as they both smiled at each other.

"Good night Hikari."

As soon as the girl opened the door, Takeru heard, "URGHHH. STUPID STOVE WON'T WORK." A moment of silence passed. "THAT'S IT. AGUMON, HEAT UP THE STOVEEEE!!!"

Then he heard, "PEPPER BREATH!"

A moment later he heard Taichi, the former leader of the digidestined yelling, "TOO MUCH AGUMON! TOO MUCH! ARGHH, MY SHIRT!"

"I better hurry up and get going. The house is becoming a wreck with Taichi alone with Agumon." Hikari stated.

Takeru nodded with a smile. "See you tomorrow."

He waited until the door closed before he started to make his way back to his house. He thought back on their day they shared together and couldn't help but grin.

* * *

"HIKARI! THANK GOD YOU'RE HERE! HELP ME PUT THIS FIRE OUT!"

The brunette sighed. "Taichi, you're eighteen years old. How come I still have watch over you?"

"Never mind that! THE FIRE!" Her older brother tried to fan out the massive fire in the stove. Agumon was right next to him, also attempting to fan out the mistake.

Hikari smiled as she remembered why her life was never dull.

"Agumon! Go get a bucket of water!"

"Gotcha Taichi!" The yellow digimon ran to the bathroom.

"Where've you been?" The brown haired soccer fanatic asked his little sister as he continued to fan out the fire.

"I was out with Takeru. You know you're making it bigger by fanning it. It's too big to just fan out."

"What are yo-" Before he could finish, the fire abruptly grew twice the size it was before. Taichi squealed before backing off in disbelief.

"AGUMON! WATERRRR!"

"I'm here!" Agumon threw the bucket of water on the fire, causing massive smoke to fill the apartment. Hikari, in response, ran over to open the windows. After a few minutes, the Yagamis were finally able to bring normality back into the household.

"God. That was close." Taichi said while sighing in relief.

"Tell me about it." His digimon agreed.

"Remind me to never ask you to use your digital abilities to help around in the house."

"Agreed."

"Where's Gatomon?" Hikari asked as she took her scarf off.

"Out probably. You know her. Her and her night runs." Her older brother answered. He then reverted his attention to her. "You were out with Takeru this late? At this weather?

What were you guys doing?"

"We took a walk in the park."

"Oh…" He said suspiciously.

"Don't worry onii-chan. Takeru and I are just friends. You know that."

"I guess…" After a minute of thinking, Taichi shrugged it off; he actually trusted Takeru to not do anything with his sister.

"Just out of curiosity, why aren't you two together?"

Hikari sighed. "I told you before. Because there's no way we can be more than just friends. Takeru has so many girls after him, I doubt he even considered me as girlfriend material. What are the chances…" She paused. "Besides, our friendship is worth way more than risking it by doing something like that."

"I guess…just seems you too click pretty well."

"We do…" She bit her lower lip. "I don't know."

"It's ok. You're too young to date." He stated while turning on the television.

"What do you mean too young? I'm fourteen!"

"Still sixteen years away from thirty! You're NOT dating until you're thirty remember!" Taichi replied back.

* * *

"Hey Yamato."

Takeru's older brother was staying with him while his dad was out on a business trip and his mother was out of the country visiting relatives in France.

"Hey. What took you so long?"

"Sorry. I was hanging out with Hikari." He stated as he took his shoes off.

"Ah. Well, dinner's on the table if you still want some." Yamato went back to his task at hand which was playing his guitar.

"You know when dad's coming back?"

"Umm…next Friday?"

"How about mom?"

"Next next Friday."

"Great. I'm going to be eating ramen for 2 weeks." Takeru groaned. The Ishida/Takaishi boys were infamously known for their inability to cook.

Yamato got up and slapped his younger brother on the back. "Cheer up! These noodles were made out of love so they'll taste extra good!"

Takeru tried some of it and blinked. Then he stated, "Um…Yamato…you forgot to put the sauce in before you cooked it."

A moment of silence filled the room. The older brother shrugged. "Oh. That's why it tasted so stale."

The younger digidestined sighed.

"So…what's up with you and Hikari? You guys are sure close for a girl and a boy."

"Yeah…but we're just best friends." Takeru stated while making his own ramen.

"Uh huh…Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why only best friends? You guys seem like you guys would be a good couple."

"Out of the question. It's too dangerous. I would be risking our friendship and that's something I'm not willing to risk. Besides, why would Hikari want to be my girlfriend? She can have any guy out there…there's no way she would pick me."

"You'd be surprised what girls would do…I never thought Sora liked me nor did I think she would say yes when I asked her out, knowing how close she and Taichi are. But here we are…together."

"Eh. That's different. You guy didn't have as strong of a bond as me and Hikari have as friends. The risk wasn't as big for you."

Yamato thought about it before replying, "I guess you're right. What do I know about women? I mean, I thought you could buy a girl a large shirt and be okay with it. Figures buying a big shirt implies the girl is fat and leads to a load of trouble…" He shrugged before going back to his guitar.

"Yeah…" Takeru didn't know how to respond so he concentrated on the ramen. As he thought, he couldn't help but wonder if maybe, just maybe, Hikari had feelings for him. He brushed the thoughts aside as he told himself he was happy with being just friends. Well, not _happy_. He was…_fine_ with being just friends.

You like it? Hope so. R AND R!!! next chapter will come out soon.


	2. I'll protect you from the cold

So, I made a boo-boo on my last chapter…haha…already an mistake…not a good sign… but anyway, Hikari and Takeru are FIFTEEN years old and they are freshmen in high school. I said they were fourteen but realized my mistake. Sorry guys! Second chapter is up, thanks for the positive feedback. If I made any mistakes, please tell me so I can correct them. Keep it coming! Oh and 1 more thing. the line thingy means a period of time passed. I can't seem to create more space between my paragraphs so i juss made the line as my period of time indication.

DISCLAIMER: I DO OWN DIGIMON.

Chapter 2

Takeru was sweating and breathing hard. He was exhausted, tired, and in general, sore. But the game wasn't over; Odaiba High was down by one with only thirty seconds left. The young blonde refused to let Kyoto High get the better of them. The game itself was close as both teams kept switching the leads. However, they could not stop number twenty from the opposing team as he kept scoring at will. But then again, so was Takeru; he had thirty-three points while number twenty had twenty-eight points. It was a battle between the two stars and everyone in the gym knew it.

As he walked out of the time-out, he heard the proud Odaiba students yelling, cheering, causing a raucous from the bleachers. He gave them a reassuring grin, causing them to roar even loader behind their star player. As the game started, he looked up and saw Hikari in the stands cheering him on.

The whistle blew as he was given the ball. Thirty seconds.

He slowly made his way down the court, commanding his teammates to run the specified play the coach told them to run. Twenty seconds.

He squared off against his defender, which happened to be Kyoto High's star player, number twenty. He looked at him dead in the eyes. Ten seconds.

He shifted his weight to his left as he dribbled with his left hand but then quickly changed directions and used the momentum to go to his right; a quick crossover to hopefully create some space between him and his defender. Worked like a charm. Number twenty lost balance and almost stumbled, leaving Takeru open. The blonde, seeing he had two seconds left, quickly shot the open jumper. Swish. Buzzer. Game over.

Before he knew it, he was surrounded by his teammates as they all roared in celebration. The bleachers quickly emptied as students rushed onto the basketball court to join in the rush. Takeru grinned as the sweet taste of victory filled his mouth.

It took almost an hour for teachers and supervisors to suppress the students as they were ordered to leave the gym. The players got in line to shake their opponents' hands as a sign of good sportsmanship. Afterwards, they hit the lockers with nothing but good vibes.

"Great shot Takeru."

"Awesome move."

"Played really well Takeru."

His teammates all congratulated him for his amazing heroics. Takeru simply thanked them for the kind words. He never knew how to take such compliments; it made him feel a little awkward to receive such praise.

After he showered and got dressed, he walked out of the locker room only to meet his friends: Miyako, Iori, Daisuke, and Hikari with their respective digimons in their hands. They were all the newer generation digidestined with the exception of Ken who was out spending time with his family. He smiled as he walked over to them.

"Takeru!" Patamon, his digimon, yelled as he flew over to the blonde. He hugged his digimon as both of them laughed in joy.

"Great game Takeru! You were awesome!" Miyako exclaimed.

"Thanks. I'm not sure how many times I've heard that today though." The blonde said while scratching the back of his head.

"Don't let it get to your head. It was alright." Daisuke muttered.

"Alright? You were the one who was screaming, yelling, and getting all into it. If anything, I could've taken you as one of the girls in Takeru's fan club." The purple haired girl shot back.

The leader of the new digidestined turned red as he opened his mouth to reply but couldn't say anything.

"You had thirty-five points. I heard some of the guys saying that you could be setting a record." Iori stated, ignoring the little spat.

"You should've seen everyone in the crowd. I never knew humans would get so excited over a number." Upamon added.

"Really? That's interesting." Actually, it wasn't. Takeru didn't really care too much for records or personal achievements; the fact that his team won in the end made him satisfied.

"They're also calling you the 'Freshman Sensation.'" Iori excitedly continued. The blonde digidestined laughed; his younger counterpart seemed more into it than he was.

"I'm glad you could make it, Iori. Thanks for coming out." The younger child still went to Odaiba Elementary School and so was separated from the rest of the group.

"I wouldn't miss it for my digi-partner." Takeru and Iori were DNA digi-partners and, because of that, developed a strong bond between each other. If anything, Takeru was closest to the younger but mature boy in the group, next to Hikari.

Speaking of which, his best friend simply gave a knowing smile. Layering a light grey, classy, knit V-top over her light pink shirt while wearing black skinny gym pants, she looked extremely beautiful. The blonde grinned back.

"I'm hungry…let's go out to eat!" Gatomon complained while being cradled in Hikari's arms.

Daisuke was finally going to say something until he noticed a large herd moving toward them. He squinted to make out the details.

"Hey…What's that?"

"It's coming toward us." DemiVeemon, Daisuke's digimon, pointed out.

Takeru groaned. He knew exactly what it was.

He felt a hand grasp his shoulder. "Well, good luck, Takeru. This-" Miyako pointed at the large group. "is _your_ battle. We'll be heading off." Then she turned to the rest of the group. "Let's go guys. Can't disturb Takeru while he's… taking care of business." The purple haired girl giggled.

Hikari let Gatomon down, ran to him, and hugged him, putting her arms around Takeru's neck which, in turn, caused Daisuke to open his mouth in protest. She whispered, "I'll wait for you. Have fun."

As she pulled away, the blonde basketball star smiled weakly at her attempt to cheer him up. Miyako then grabbed all the digidestined, especially a particularly confused and very jealous Daisuke, and dragged them away from their friend.

Takeru groaned again as he faced his fate; the same mob of girls that swarmed him after every basketball game. At first he tried running from them but after a while, he grew weary of all the exercise he had to endure in one day. So he just let them swarm him and hoped that some kind of miracle could save him in the next half hour to a hour.

"TAKERU! YOU WERE SO GOOD TODAY!"

"WILL YOU TAKE A PICTURE WITH ME???"

"WILL YOU SIGN MY SHIRT???!"

"WILL YOU GO OUT WITH ME?!"

"NO FAIR! I CALLED DIBBS FIRST!"

"NO, I DID!"

The blonde gave a nervous chuckle as he tried to calm down the horde, hoping that the same thing that happened last time wouldn't happen again; one of the girls got into a fight with another girl and caused a mosh pit, dragging him down with them.

"CAN I HAVE YOUR HAT??"

Instinctively, he protectively reached up for the top of his head, only to realize that he put his hat away in his bag. One time, a girl tried to steal his hat, prompting him to forever put his hat away before walking out of the locker room.

"Girls…don't you have to go home?" He asked in attempt to hopefully remind them of something, _anything_, they had to do at home.

"HE TALKED TO ME? OH MY---"

"NO, HE WAS TALKING TO ME!!!"

Takeru blushed as he felt something poke his rear. He quickly turned and looked around; someone had pinched his butt.

"CAN I HAVE YOUR JERSEY???!"

The Bearer of Hope sighed in defeat as the onslaught of questions and definite invasion of privacy overwhelmed him. He knew it was going to be a long day.

* * *

It took almost an hour for the blonde high school student to somehow pry away from the mob of girls. He got lucky that the janitor ordered them to head out of the school so he could lock it up. He took that opportunity to slip away from the crowd and sneak away without getting caught. 

The blonde walked out of the front gate of the school very discreetly. As he turned to close the gate behind him, he felt someone tap his shoulder. Thinking it was one of the pestering girls, Takeru flinched and was startled, only to find Hikari behind him.

The young brunette could do nothing but smile. "You look like one of those spies from the movies. You get away ok?"

Takeru sighed. "Yeah, luckily. They took a lot longer than I thought. They're so persistent. Worse than it was at Middle School."

"It's only because you're a new face. Once they get used to seeing you play and everything settles down, it'll get better. It's because you're a freshman." She repeated.

"I hope so."

"Well, at least you got out in one piece."

"I know. I'm grateful for that." The blonde picked up his bag and started walking with his best friend back home. "Where's Gatomon?" he asked.

"She left early; it was getting late and she was really, really hungry."

"I'm sorry Hikari. You didn't have to wait for me."

The fifteen year old girl just gave him a reassuring smile. "It's ok. That's what best friends are for."

"I'm guessing Patamon and the others left too?"

"Yep. They were all hungry. Oh and Patamon said he would wait for at home."

"That's good. I didn't want them to wait for me; I would've felt bad."

"Hmm." A silence passed over them but Takeru welcomed it. It was nice hearing nothing after all the screaming and yelling he just experienced first hand.

Then, out of nowhere, it started snowing lightly. The blonde could feel the nib of each frost hit his face. But luckily, he had a dark blue jacket on to keep him warm as the temperature started to drop slowly while they walked. He looked over and saw that Hikari didn't have anything but her V-top layered over her pink shirt. Takeru could literally see the goose bumps forming on her skin. Without a second thought, he opened up his jacket, drew the brunette close, and wrapped the jacket around the two of them. She looked startled by his actions but immediately became comfortable in the position. She drew closer to the much taller boy and wrapped her arms around his waist.

It was Takeru's turn to be startled. As if reading his mind, Hikari replied, "It was still cold. You're so much warmer than me." she looked up at her friend. "Are you uncomfortable with it?"

"No, of course not." He answered quickly. He looked into her crimson eyes and smiled. "I'm never uncomfortable with you, Hikari."

"Hmm. Me too."

They continued their walk back home, both extremely cozy and comfortable as everything negative, all the worries, stress, frustration, distress washed out of their systems.

Without even realizing it, he instinctively put Hikari under his right arm and held onto her hand, as if it was natural for him to hold her so caringly. And while Hikari never noticed, she instinctively squeezed his hand back.

* * *

"Awww…They are _so _cute." A girl claimed. 

"I know. I knew this was going to happen. Aren't you glad we waited?" A boy with a raspy voice replied.

"Yeah. It was worth freezing and catching a cold over. This is _too _cute."

Yamato and Sora hid in a bush nearby and witnessed everything that transpired between their younger friends. Both waited for hours for the moment to pass by, and while Sora almost died of pneumonia in the process, they didn't regret it as they were able to see what they wanted to see.

"How did you know this was going to happen?" Sora asked.

Her boyfriend pushed back some of his hair. "Gut feeling. Patamon came home and told me that Takeru was going to come home later. He also told me not to worry because Hikari stayed behind to walk him home. Based off of that, I knew something had to happen."

"I can't believe it. Those two are so perfect for each other. It's adorable."

"I wonder what Taichi's reactions going to be when he finds out."

Sora rolled her eyes. "He's going to make Agumon digi-evolve into Greymon and then burn all of Odaiba to find Takeru and strangle him to death."

"Nah…You think so?" The blonde asked as they got out of their hiding spot. He brushed off some of the dirt that was on his shoulder.

"Being Taichi's best friend, you know nothing about him. Of course that's exactly what he would do. You know how over-protective he is over his sister. He wouldn't let even Takeru touch her _that_ way." She was referring to Takeru's interaction with Hikari.

"Hm…I guess."

"I don' think Taichi should know. Not yet, at least."

"Why? He's going to find out eventually."

"I know but it's too early to tell anyone." Sora looked over in the direction Takeru and Hikari walked off to. "Besides, I get the feeling that even _they_ don't realize they're in love with each other."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I think they're in denial right now. I mean, it's obvious to us they have feelings for each other. But I don't think it's obvious to _them."_

Yamato thought about it for a minute. "Want to find out?"

Sora gave him a puzzled look. "How?"

"Just follow me back home. I'll tell you on the way. But we have to hurry; we have to get home before Takeru does."

"Again, how? Takeru's way ahead of us."

The blonde boyfriend shook his head. "There's a shortcut I know of. Besides, he's going to drop Hikari off first so that'll give us time. But we need to hurry." With that, he grabbed Sora's arm and made a run for it.

* * *

Takeru walked into the apartment tired but satisfied. Tired from the draining day he had with school, basketball, and dealing with the girls. Satisfied from the time he spent with Hikari walking back to her home. They didn't say much but none was needed; it was one of those moments where silence spoke more than words. 

He was surprised to see Sora in his home with Yamato although he didn't know why; Sora was his brother's girlfriend so it would only make sense she would be over occasionally. They were on the couch together, seemingly just cuddling before he entered. He waved at them. "Hi guys."

"Hey Takeru." Sora said.

"Hey lil' bro." Yamato replied.

Takeru made his way to the kitchen.

"What took you so long? Patamon came home way before you did." His older brother asked.

"Oh. I had some…business to attend to." He replied almost sarcastically.

"You know you shouldn't walk home alone this late." Yamato stressed with a false protective voice.

"I didn't walk home alone; Hikari walked with me. Hey, Yamato, is their any ramen left?"

"Sorry, bro. You're going to have to make it yourself."

"Probably for the better." Takeru opened the fridge.

"So you walked with Hikari back home?" Sora asked innocently.

"Yeah."

"That's nice. How's everything with you two by the way?"

The younger digidestined dropped the ramen into the boiling water. "Good. Still best friends."

Both Yamato and Sora looked at each other. "You know, I think it's really cute that you guys are so close." Sora stated.

"Umm…I guess. I trust her more than anyone."

"I have a question though. You guys sure you guys are just friends? If I didn't know any better, I could have taken you guys as a couple."

Takeru laughed. "Nope. Just best friends."

"Really? I mean, you guys are _awfully_ close. Even for best friends." Sora implied.

"Do you like her?" Yamato bluntly asked, shocking his girlfriend.

Their was a moment of pause. Takeru took time to think about the question but quickly dismissed any wild thoughts "Nah. Just really close friends." he turned around and looked at them with curiosity in his eyes. "Why you guys asking?"

"Just wondering." Both of them replied at the same time.

The younger blonde shrugged and reverted his attention back to his ramen.

"Well, I'm going to walk Sora back home." His older brother told Takeru as he got up and walked over to the door with his girlfriend

"Ok. It was nice seeing you Sora!"

"You too Takeru! Bye!"

"Bye!"

As soon as the two older digidestined stepped outside, Yamato scratched the back of head. "I guess he _really _is in denial."

Sora nodded her head in agreement. "I thought so. Although, I think it's starting to hit him."

"Why do you say that?"

"When you asked that ridiculously stupid question on if he liked her or not," She glared at her boyfriend for his stupid move. "he paused to think about it."

She continued, "It took him a moment to think about it. A moment to think about the boundaries between friendship and relationship. That moment could be the start of the their feelings for each other."

"How do you know so much about this?"

"Well, I _am_ the digidestined of Love." Sora replied with a wink. "And plus, it's how I felt when I started developing feelings for you. I kind of understand what both are going through."

"Hmm…" Yamato shrugged. "What do you think we should do?"

"Nothing. We can't interfere with this. We don't have the right to. The best thing is wait and watch."

"Wonder what it would be like if Takeru and Hikari went out."

"Honestly, I don't think it would be very different; a lot of people are kind of expecting them to end up together. Only difference would be between them and how they would look at each other differently."

"Your right." Yamato noticed Sora yawning. He wrapped his arms around her. "Hey, I'll walk you back."

Sora simply nodded her head as she cuddled next to her boyfriend.

"I really do hope…it works out between them." Sora mumbled.

Yamato gave a small smile at her. "Yeah, me too. Me too."

Like it? Hope so. Thanks for taking time reading! R+R!!!


	3. Ice skating away your touch

Blah. Sorry for the late update but summer school has started and I'm being worked. Updates might be later than usual but I'm still updating. Thanks for your patience

Chapter 3

A week had passed since Yamato and Sora had started spying on the their two younger friends. Since then, they continued to "observe" the interaction between Takeru and Hikari; the more and more they watched, the more and more they were convinced that the two had deep feelings for each other.

Takeru, however, who was oblivious of the spying, was just having a good time. He really did enjoy hanging out with his best friend, more so than anyone else and tried his best to spend as much time as he could with her. Given any time, moment, place, or circumstance, the two would clear space in their schedule just to meet up with one another. The two saw each other on a daily basis, often time meeting up and hanging out alone, feeling much more comfortable in solitude together then with a big group.

But that didn't mean they didn't hang out with other company; the blonde was actually walking his way to meet up Hikari and the other digidestined so they could hang out together. It was the first day of winter break for the kids and they wanted to celebrate the occasion by going out and having fun. He wasn't sure what they were doing but his older brother told him to wear warm clothes for the event.

Not like he wasn't in the first place, Takeru thought to himself. It was freezing outside in Odaiba, prompting him to put on some of the warmest clothes he had in his closet. But even with all the layers of clothes, a slight goose bump ran up his neck, causing him to shiver. Patamon, who was snuggled inside the blonde's outer jacket, stuck his head out to see where they were.

"Hey Takeru. Are we almost there yet?" The digimon asked.

"I don't know. All Yamato said was to meet at Odaiba Park, near the pond."

"It's freezing. I wonder what we're doing in such a weather."

Takeru laughed. "You're cold? You're nested in my jacket, warm and away from the breeze and air_. I'm _freezing."

"Your jacket isn't _that _warm."

"Oh, you prefer to be outside it?"

"Haha. You're funny." Patamon claimed sarcastically, knowing full well that his friend wouldn't do that.

The blonde chuckled at their conversation. As he continued to walk, he couldn't help but wonder exactly what the others had in mind to do in the inhospitable weather. The temperature continued to drop as light breezes started to develop. And there was no doubt he was late; they were suppose to meet up at three o'clock and it was three forty-five when Takeru left the house. Fortunately, his older brother told him it was ok and to still come out.

As he reached Odaiba Park, he saw the others from afar as he continued to walk toward them. All of the digidestined were accounted for with the exception of Mimi who lived in America. The digidestined were ice-skating on the frozen pond while their digimon were playing in the snow. Their were a couple blankets laid out with loads of food and even thicker blankets on top of them. From what he could make out, it seemed they were playing tag while ice-skating, with Daisuke trying to tag anyone around him with the efforts of not falling down face first.

Taichi was the first to spot Takeru as he waved at his younger counterpart. "Takeru! Hurry up and put on some ice-skates!"

Patamon looked up at his friend. "It's really cold…"

The digidestined of Hope glanced at his digimon. "You'll be fine. Go play with the other digimon. They seem to be having fun despite the cold." They were making snow-digimon and snow-angels from what Takeru could tell.

"Patamon! Help us make the most amount of snow-angels!" Gatomon yelled at her friend.

"Yeah! We're going to make a million!" DemiVeemon added.

In a instance, Patamon flew out of Takeru's jacket was made his way to his friends. Laughing at how easily his partner's mind could be swayed, he too made his way to his friends.

They were having fun as they all laughed at Daisuke's inability to keep his balance while ice-skating.

"Hey guys!" Takeru waved at them.

"Takeru! It's about time." Miyako exclaimed.

"What took you?" Iori asked.

"I had basketball practice from twelve to three-thirty today." The blonde answered.

"Today? I thought it was winter break." Izumi pitched in.

"Yeah but the coach is getting ready for the play-offs so we have to practice a lot now. It's really tiring."

"Well, forget about all that and put on some skates!" His older brother pointed at a pair of free skates near the blankets.

" Yeah, you _have _to watch Daisuke try to skate; it's one of the funniest things in the world!" Sora giggled.

While everyone went off to continue to make fun of Daisuke, who happened to be turning red out of frustration over his lack of coordination on ice, Takeru sat down and started to put on his skates before he noticed that someone was looking down on them. He looked up to see his best friend, Hikari, smiling. She was wearing a light pink overcoat with grey winter slacks and a light pink scarf on that seemed to match her perfectly. To the blonde, she seemed even more beautiful than ever. He smiled at her back.

"Hey. For a moment, I thought you weren't going to come." The brunette stated.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, it looks like you guys are having fun without me."

She sat down next to him. "Yeah, Daisuke is pretty funny to watch. For a soccer player, he has really bad balance."

He started to tie his ice skates on. "That's Daisuke. Always throwing the unexpected."

His best friend laughed. "Yep. How was your day by the way?"

"Tiring. Basketball practice has been hard. Play-off is coming soon and the coach is working us."

"I'm sure you guys will do fine. You guys were number one during the season right?"

"Yeah but I don't know. I feel like we got lucky."

"You always say that, Mr. All-Star." she teased him with the nickname that his teammates gave him. Takeru averaged 25 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists during the school year as he was named Division I League All-Star, becoming the youngest to do so in school history.

"Hey! You know I don't like that name."

"I know. That's why I do it." She said with a smile.

"Yeah yeah. You're coming to our next game right? Play-offs are starting."

"Of course, silly. I've been to every one of your games this year. Why would I miss this one?"

"Oh, you have? I haven't noticed." Takeru waited for his comment to sink in as he watched in humor as Hikari face went from a frown to a pout. "I'm kidding! Of course I noticed. I'm always looking for you in the bleachers every game."

His best friend laughed. After finally finishing putting on his ice-skates, he got up and offered his hand to the brunette.

"Come on. Let's go."

He picked her up and led her to the others. As they skated towards them, he noticed that all of them were staring at them.

"OOOOhhh. What were you guys doing over there?" Miyako exclaimed.

Takeru looked at her, questioningly. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, lil bro. Look where your hand is." Yamato added sheepishly. Sora and Miyako giggled as the guys, with the exception of Taichi who had a stoic expression on, gave Takeru a mischievous look.

He looked at Hikari who was equally lost at the situation. She returned the glance as they both looked down at Takeru's hand, which happened to be enwrapped in the brunette's hand as well. At first, neither of them could see what the big deal was until it hit them. Both blushed and quickly removed each other's hand from their own.

"Oops. Sorry. It's a habit." Takeru scratched the back of his head. His statement made the girls giggle even more.

"So…you mean to say you hold Hikari's hand often?" Izumi raised an eyebrow.

"Uh…no…it's just that…." He was caught in his own words. The rest of the digidestined laughed at his speechlessness. Except Taichi. Takeru knew how over-protective the digidestined of Courage was over his younger sister and was afraid of how he would react to the situation. However, all Taichi did was smile and shake his head.

"Awww, it's ok Takeru." Yamato slapped him on the back. "You know we're joking. We know you guys are just friends." The younger blonde noticed a knowing look in his older brother's eyes.

"I wasn't joking! Those two are _always _together! They might as well be going out!" Miyako proclaimed.

"But their best friends." Ken quietly pointed out.

"There's no such thing as 'best friends' between a girl and a guy." The purple haired girl muttered.

"Shut up, Miyako! Takeru! You better not be hitting on my girl like that!" he heard Daisuke yell.

"_Your_ girl? That's my _sister_!" Taichi yelled back.

"What did you say? _Shut up_??? Oh, I'll shut something up but it won't be my mouth!" The feisty girl snapped.

"Uh…I meant…Oh shoot." Daisuke tried to skate away from Taichi and Miyako who were chasing after him.

"I didn't do anything! Takeru was the one who held Hikari's hand! And sorry Miyako, I didn't mean it!" The younger leader protested.

"Come here you! _Your _girl? You are so dead…"

"Let me see your face Daisuke! I'll gladly shut that up for you!"

Sora sighed as she watched. "Daisuke…so hot-headed. He should know better then to run his mouth off like that." She turned to the others. "Let's help Daisuke before he's beaten to a pulp." Everyone agreed.

Takeru was glad the spotlight was off of him and Hikari. He couldn't believe he held her hand in public, especially in front of her older brother. Yes, he did hold her hands often but it was always when they were alone. They both knew that holding hands, for them, was just a display of how close friends they were and how comfortable they were with each other. But they also knew that, in public view, it would be taken the wrong way. Well, not necessarily the _wrong_ way. Just not the way they wanted it to be perceived. It certainly wouldn't be wrong if he was actually going out with the brunette, Takeru started thinking to himself.

He brushed aside such stupid thoughts. He remembered the past and how he had such strong feelings for the girl but was tormented daily because of the simple fact he knew she didn't like him back. He remembered the great sadness he endured because of having those feelings and keeping them bottled up while seeing her face everyday. He remembered and swore he would never go back to such a pitiful state.

The blonde looked down at his best friend who was looking up at him as well. She had a concerned look on her face.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? How do you know something's bothering me?"

She shrugged. "Not sure. I guess I just do." She smiled. "That's how close we are. Tell me. What's bothering you?"

"Nothing. It's really nothing. Just thinking about some stupid things." He said with a smile. He knew that wasn't going to content her. But she didn't say anything as she bit her lower lip and let it be.

"Takeru! Help get Daisuke out of the snow! He fell into a _huge_ ditch!" Sora yelled.

* * *

With the help of the digimons, they were able to get the poor boy out of the hole as they laughed at the whole event. Even Daisuke found it humorous and joked about it with the others. Afterwards, they decided to eat as they brought a lot of food with them for the 'picnic.' Takeru couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of having a picnic in middle of winter. However, all the food easily vanished despite the abundance, thanks to the digimons and Daisuke. After eating, the digidestined decided to play around a bit more but many of them realized that they had to do something later on the day. The digidestined decided to call it a day and went off to do their individual activities. Takeru, Hikari, Daisuke, and Sora were the last ones at the park.

"What do you guys have planned for the rest of the day?" Sora asked.

"Nothing." Takeru answered.

"Same." Hikari followed as she picked up Gatomon.

"Not me. I have to go home and do my chores. Jun has really turned into my mom and has been bugging me about them forever!" Daisuke complained.

"She asked you once in this morning, Daisuke." DemiVeemon quipped in.

"Whatever! It feels like more!"

They all laughed at Daisuke's whining. Sora turned to her younger counterparts. "Well, I have to meet up with my mom to help her find a good dress for a wedding we're attending. I'll see you guys later then!" She and Biyomon both left the trio to themselves.

"What are you two going to do now?" Daisuke asked Takeru, suspiciously.

"Probably kiss and cuddle next to each other." he answered back quickly.

"WHAT???!!!!" The hot-headed boy's jaw dropped on the floor as his eyes grew three times their original size. His face was beet red as he continued to stare at disbelief.

The blonde laughed as well as Patamon. "I'm kidding, Daisuke. You know I wouldn't do that with her. I'm going to leave soon but I'll probably walk Hikari home."

"Forget that! _I'm_ walking her home!"

"But…you live so far away from her…"

"You're not exactly her neighbor either Takeru!"

"But I'm still closer than you are."

"Since when--" he was interrupted by Hikari, who walked in on their conversation.

"Sorry I took so long to get ready guys; Gatomon swore she saw a mouse in the park." She turned to her best friend. "Ready to go?" This made Daisuke go speechless. He quickly recovered though.

"But, Hikari, I was hoping _I_ could walk you home…" He stated, hopingly.

The brunette gave him a puzzled look. "But, Daisuke, you live so far away. It would take you almost fifteen minutes to get home from my house."

"It's ok! I like the walk!"

"But, Daisuke…" DemiVeemon pulled at his pants. "Jun said to be home soon and do the chores or else she'll throw away your games."

"Errr…" Daisuke seemed torn with his desire to impress and flirt with Hikari and his fear of facing his older sister's wrath.

"It's ok, Daisuke. You can walk me back home next time, ok?" The brunette offered. The young soccer player sighed in defeat. But immediately had a face of determination on.

"Yeah! I will and when I do, it'll be the best walk ever!" He turned to DemiVeemon. "Come on! Let's go before my sister throws another phone at me." The two ran off as fast as their legs would go.

The blonde chuckled. "He's always trying to find an excuse to hang out with you."

Hikari smiled. "I know. I think it's sort of sweet…to an extent."

"What do you mean?"

"Hm…nothing."

"Come on! Tell me!"

The brown-haired girl shook her head. "You wouldn't tell me what was bothering you earlier. I don't have to tell you anything."

"You're going to pull that on me?" Hikari didn't reply. All she did was smile sweetly at him.

Takeru rolled his eyes. "Fine. I guess you have a point." He grabbed her hand and tugged at her. "Hey. Let's ice-skate some more."

The freshman girl didn't resist. The two found themselves skating on the pond, nearby each other, as Patamon and Gatomon simply watched from a distance.

"How long do you think their going to take?" Patamon asked.

"I don't know but I don't think we should interrupt." The feline digimon replied.

"Why?"

"I've watched in TV shows that this is called a 'moment.'"

"What's a 'moment '?"

"I don't know exactly."

Hikari and Takeru skated around in small circles quietly, letting the silence soak in. Not an awkward silence but a comfortable silence that the two have grown to enjoy between one another.

The blonde decided to break the ice. "I can't believe I was holding your hand in front of your brother."

The brunette shrugged. "It's ok. As protective as Taichi is, he understands our relationship."

"Oh that's good." Takeru stopped skating and watched his best friend. "It's weird how everyone else misunderstands our relationship."

"It's only because they don't know _us_. They don't know how close we are, Takeru."

The crimson eyed girl stated while looking down at the ice and skating in small circles.

"Sometimes, I don't understand _us_ either."

Hikari glanced up at him. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know." He thought about it for a moment. "I guess what I mean is that I can understand why they would think that way about us."

"Hm…I suppose." She stopped skating next to her best friend and looked up at him. He looked back, letting himself get deep into her light chocolate colored eyes. As well as he knew his best friend, he could never really tell what went on in her mind. She was somewhat closed and had a barrier on that was extremely hard to break through. She never really opened too much to people, even to him, which made her somewhat of an mystery in terms of her feelings and what she thought about. As he stood there, staring, he again felt lost, unable to read the brunette and her emotions. He mentally sighed in defeat.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked.

"Hm…Nothing."

"Lies." He chuckled. A silence passed as both of them broke eye contact.

"You know." Hikari broke the silence. "I actually was interested in Daisuke in the beginning."

Takeru was taken back by her statement. "Really??? What do you 'the beginning?'"

"When he became a digidestined. I…found myself responding to all the attention he gave me."

"Oh." For some reason, the blonde felt a sudden sadness sweep over him. "What happened? Do you still have those feelings?"

The brunette shook her head. "After a while, I realized that Daisuke didn't really like me. He might have a crush on me but that's different from actually having feelings. The more I looked at it, I knew that what he felt wasn't going to be more than a crush. It's kind of like…puppy love almost."

"I see."

"And…I don't know. As everything went by, my feelings changed. I mean, Daisuke is a great guy and everything but…" She simply shrugged and left her sentence hanging. The blonde was fine with that as he pondered at what she told him.

He looked at his friend to find Hikari looking back. She blushed and looked away. Takeru smiled. "Well, I'm sure you'll find someone, Hikari. And whoever it is should consider himself a lucky guy."

The brunette smiled back. The digidestined of Hope brushed aside some of Hikari's hair as he softly patted her on the head. "You look…different today."

"Really?"

"Yeah…maybe it's your hair."

She frowned. "I've always had this hairstyle."

"I know." He stroked her cheek. "Maybe it's because it's longer."

"It's not _that_ much longer."

Takeru laughed. "Fine, fine. But you look different today. A good different." He wrapped her scarf around her neck one more time.

"I'm not sure what that means but I'll take it as a compliment."

A little after, the two decided it was time to head back home. As they walked to Hikari's home, Takeru couldn't help but think about the revelation he had made. All this time and he didn't even know that Hikari had feelings for Daisuke. What made it even more confusing was that he was actually saddened at the thought of it, even though he knew it was really nothing; she said she _used_ find him attractive. But the more and more he thought about it, he began to wonder about the 'what ifs' in life and 'maybes' that could've, might've, worked out for him. The possibilities of perhaps being happier than he ever thought of started to float in his mind; dreams of laughter and joy, roaming. Dreams of him and Hikari, alone and together.

Hope you liked it. Please R+R!


	4. Fates Collide

Late update, I know. Three words: SUMMER SCHOOL SUCKS. Anyways, here's the next chapter! Thanks for waiting everyone! Hope you like it!

For those of you who don't know:

Taichi -Tai  
Yamato -Matt  
Sora - Sora  
Izumi - Izzy  
Joe- Joe  
Mimi - Mimi  
Takeru - T.K.  
Hikari -Kari  
Daisuke - Davis  
Miyako - Yolei  
Iori - Cody  
Ken - Ken

Chapter 4

Takeru stood at Miyako's door, pausing for a moment before knocking to enter. It was Christmas and the purple haired girl wanted to throw a party at her house for Digidestined. At first, the blonde was hesitant; he actually planned on spending time with his mother for the special occasion. She had just come back from her trip to France and Takeru felt it had been a while since they spent time together. But as soon as his mother came back, she had to go write a report that was pushed back because of her visit to France. So, while she furiously typed away on her computer, hoping to beat time, her son decided to spend the Christmas attending the party with his friends.

Takeru brushed off some of his hair from his eyes as he looked up to see light snow hitting his face. Not that it really bothered him. He was used to the negligence of his mother. He considered going to his dad's but decided against it. He was sure his mom wouldn't feel great if he spent Christmas with his dad instead of her. So, like most Christmas', he found himself spending the time with his friends.

Takeru simply stared at the door ahead of him. He didn't know why but for some reason, he felt compelled to stay where he was and not enter the party. He shuffled his feet.

"Takeru."

The blonde reverted his attention to Patamon, who was sitting on his normal spot which was on top of his partner's head.

"What are you waiting for?" The digimon asked.

"Nothing. I guess I'm just tired from basketball practice today." He had a four hour practice and was drained from it, feeling a little light-headed from all the exercise. Play-off games started a week after Christmas so the coach was pushing their limit to get the team ready. While he loved basketball, he felt the game was consuming him sometimes.

"Well, as much as I enjoy freezing outside, I think it would be better if we went inside."

Takeru laughed. "Sure Patamon. Sorry about that." Finally, he knocked on the door. A few moments of silence passed before the door opened. Miyako's face lit up as soon as she saw her friend.

"Takeru! Patamon! I'm so glad you both could make it!"

"Hi Miyako!" The digimon greeted.

The Digidestined of Hope grinned. "Wouldn't miss it. Thanks for hosting it."

"Oh, it's no big deal. Come on in!" As he closed the door behind him, Miyako pointed at the bag he was carrying. "Who's that for?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." The guest reminded her. The Digidestined decided to do a Secret Santa for the Christmas party so that the kids didn't have to spend too much money for the holiday. Each teenager was randomly given a name and was to buy a Christmas gift for that person; no one was suppose to know who was who's Secret Santa until they actually started opening the gifts.

" Oh fine. Just tell me this: Are you _my _Secret Santa?"

The blonde laughed. "You'll have to wait and see"

"Darn, Takeru. You're no fun." She hugged him and literally started pushing her friend toward the living room. "Now, come on! Everyone's already here and eating!"

He entered the extremely festive room, crowded with all the digidestined and their digimons. Their were lights, stockings, ornaments, and decorations all over the room, giving off a very Christmas-like vibe. Their was food on the table but not a lot. He should've expected that, coming late. His friends were all sitting on the floor, conversing with one another.

"Takeru!" His older brother greeted. Everyone else followed.

"Why are you always late for everything?" Sora teased.

"Sorry guys! But practice took longer than I thought."

"It seems like lately practice is all you do!" Daisuke stated.

Takeru scratched the back of his head. "Yeah but it'll be over once basketball season is over."

"That's fine. Get some food and join us man!" Taichi offered.

The younger Digidestined nodded. He grabbed a plate, got some food, and sat down. As he ate, he listened and laughed as Taichi began telling the younger Digidestined stories about their original adventures in the Digital World. Of course, many of the stories were exaggerated a little but nonetheless, they were true enough to bring back memories for Takeru. Then, they decided to sing to Miyako's karaoke machine she had. Luckily, the Bearer of Hope was done with his food by then; he doubted he could have ate properly while laughing as much as he did listening to everyone sing. Even the digimons sang, despite not knowing the songs at all. Daisuke, of course, was the funniest to hear; he was most definitely tone deaf and couldn't sing one song on key.

Not that the blonde was any better. When he had to hit a high pitch, his voice cracked, causing him to squeak. Everyone broke out with laughter. It seemed that all the girls had wonderful voices while the boys were horrible singers, with the exception of Yamato. But despite that fact, the boys kept singing; they kept laughing at each other's inability to sing, knowing that they themselves couldn't do any better. By the time they decided to stop, Takeru's throat was extremely sore. While everyone was taking a break, he took the time to search out his best friend.

She was chatting with Miyako and Sora, being preoccupied with their conversation. At first, he was reluctant to interrupt them but shrugged it off. Sora spotted him and smiled.

"So, Takeru, you up for round two? You were hitting the notes so well." The Digidestined of Love teased. Both Hikari and Miyako laughed.

"You are so funny, Sora." The blonde sarcastically replied but laughed afterwards.

"When you're voice squeaked, it sounded like you _before_ you hit puberty." Hikari continued to tease.

"Oh my. It did bring back memories. For a minute, I thought I was back in the Digital World, looking for the Dark Masters." Sora added.

"You two are hilarious." Still, the child of hope grinned and shook his head at his friend's teasing.

"I think Takeru was good, you guys." Miyako stepped up. "I could almost hear what he sounded like all those years ago." the trio broke into laughter again.

:"Miyako! Where's the bathroom?!" They suddenly heard Daisuke yell across the apartment.

"Stop yelling. I'm right here." the purple haired girl scowled. "Can't you find it? It's right there."

"This is serious!!!" The hot-headed teen whimpered.

"IT'S RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU!"

"Oh." He stared at the door ahead of him for a moment but immediately bolted in afterwards.

"How was your day?" Takeru reverted his attention from the scene to Hikari, who asked the question.

"It was good. I'm really tired."

The brunette tilted her head and looked up at her best friend. "I can tell. You seem out of it."

The blonde smiled. "Just a little."

"Ok!" Miyako yelled, interrupting all conversations within the apartment. "Time to open the presents guys!"

"About time. I can't wait to see what I got!" A voice from the bathroom yelled.

"How did he hear me from there?" Ignoring her friend, Miyako continued, "Ok! Let's start opening the gifts!"

"Who opens first?" Joe asked.

"Well…since this is MY apartment, I think I should go first."

"WHAT??! WHERE'S THE JUSTICE IN THAT!" Again, the voice came from the bathroom.

"It's amazing how Daisuke can multi-task." Joe observed.

Izumi nodded in agreement. He then turned to the group and stated, "I suggest that the digimons receive their gifts first."

"We got gifts?" Upamon asked curiously.

"Of course! You didn't think we wouldn't get you guys anything, did you?" Sora cheerfully exclaimed. With that, Taichi came forth with a big bag in his arms.

"We didn't know what to really get you guys…since you guys are digimons and all… but hopefully, candy and sweet flavored gummies will be enough!" The Child of Courage quipped in, handing each digimon a small colorful bag.

The little creatures were ecstatic; jumping with joy and giddiness, the digimons quickly dove into their gifts. If it's anything the humans found out about their digital partners, it's that they _love_ to eat sweets.

"Well, since they got their gifts," Izumi concluded. "It's time we opened ours."

"Ok! I think the older Digidestined should open first. Because, you know, we're your elders…" Taichi eyed his gift greedily. Sora grabbed him by the ear and pulled him away.

"Always the child, Taichi…" The motherly figure mumbled.

"I think I should go then!" Daisuke proclaimed loudly.

"If anything, you go _last!"_ Miyako growled.

"What?! Why--"

Ken sighed. "This could get hectic…"

* * *

After much debacle and time wasted, the Digidestined were finally able to agree on who would open the gifts first. Since the older group were more mature and patient, with the exception of Taichi who pouted and complained similarly like Daisuke, they decided to go from youngest to oldest.

All twelve gifts were all placed under Miyako's Christmas tree, waiting to be opened. While no one knew who's gift was who's, the group of teenagers were anxious to rip open all the presents.

"Alright. Iori, you first." Yamato stated.

The young and quiet boy bowed before everyone in gratitude, being respectful to everyone, which didn't shock Takeru. To him, his DNA partner was one of the most respectful and mature kid he knew.

With that, the brown haired boy searched through the pile of gifts until he came onto a big, yellow-wrapped, gift with a little card sticking out. He carefully placed the gift down and opened the card.

"Dear Iori," the boy started reading. "Surprise! I'm your Secret Santa! Your such a great kid. Always thoughtful and mindful of others. You are special so I thought I would get you something special! Merry Christmas and hope you like it! From, Sora." Iori looked up at Sora and bowed again, causing Sora to giggle.

"Silly, you don't have to bow. Just open your gift." The brunette sweetly encouraged.

Without delay, he slowly ripped open his gift. Takeru watched as his face went from shock to unbelief at his gift; it was new kendo gear. The younger boy looked at Sora, with amazement.

"Sora…I can't believe you bought this for me! It must have cost a lot of money! Kendo gear is never cheap!"

"Awww…It's nothing Iori. I knew you needed some new gear but I didn't know what exactly. So, I just bought you the whole set." She winked at the shy child. "You like it?"

"Do I like it? I can't believe you bought me it! Thank you!" Then, he did something that shocked everyone in the room; he ran over and hugged Sora. Takeru could only stare in disbelief. Iori wasn't the hugging type, giving only bows to people in thanking them. The blonde could see that the Digidestined of Love was also shocked and that she was getting emotional from the surprising hug.

"Awww…Iori…" She whispered as her gaze softened.

"Alright. Who's next?" Daisuke asked out loud.

Miyako gave an evil glare at the brash boy. " Way to kill the mood…"

"No, it's ok. I'm sorry for making a scene." Iori bowed before everyone before taking a sit, holding onto his new kendo set.

"I presume Ken is next?" Joe inquired.

The black haired genius nodded quietly.

"Well, go for it man!" Taichi encouraged.

Ken got up and looked through the pile until he found a square box-like gift. He opened the card attached to it and read out loud, " Dear Ken, Hey, you genius you! I really didn't know what to get you because your so talented in everything so I couldn't decide. I figured, why not buy something that we both have in common. Hope you have a good Christmas! From, Taichi." Ken looked at Taichi and smiled.

"Thank you, Taichi."

"No problem! Open the gift!"

Ken opened his gift to find a brand new soccer ball. Ken eyed it with amusement and gave his Secret Santa a gratified look.

"Like I said… I wasn't sure what to get you so I got you the one thing I _know_ you're good at."

"Thank you, Tachi." The Digidestined of Kindness repeated. "I actually needed a new soccer ball."

"No problem."

"Ok, it's Daisuke--" Joe couldn't finish as the leader of the new Digidestined already bolted to the gifts and scourged for his gift. Takeru couldn't help but shake his head, mainly because it was something Daisuke would do.

Finally, he found his gift. It was a wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper and was hand size. He looked at it, questioningly.

"Why is it so small?" He asked.

"It's not about size." Hikari reminded him.

The brown, spiky, haired boy shrugged. He opened his card. "Dear Daisuke, You know, I can't believe I got you as my Secret Santa. While sometimes we may argue, I still consider you a close friend. Hope you enjoy my gift! Merry Christmas! From, Miyako."

His jaw grew agape. He looked at the purple haired girl with disbelief.

"_You_ had _me?_"

The stubborn girl scowled. "As if I had a choice…"

"I was hoping Hikari would have me…" Daisuke stated, sounding extremely disappointed. Miyako glared at him, prompting him to forget about it and open his gift.

As soon as he opened his gift, his expression changed from disappointment to joy.

"Wow! Miyako, thanks!" It was a blue soccer jersey. He held it up high, inspecting it with glee.

"Your welcome. I knew you would like it." And then she gave a rare smile to Daisuke.

"So, who's next?" Yamato asked.

"Hikari, I believe." Izumi answered.

"Is it just me or do you know everyone's birthday?" Taichi added.

The red head shrugged. "Just because I care about my friends' birthdays."

Takeru straightened his back attentively when he heard Hikari's name. He watched as she thanked everyone as she made her way to the presents.

She held a brown bag and inspected it, checking to see if her name was on it. Takeru watched as she smiled.

"Found it!"

"Who is it from?" Sora asked.

"Dear Hikari," The Digidestined of Light started to read. "Merry Christmas! I can't believe I had you as my Secret Santa but makes it even better! You've been my best friend who has always been there for me. Hopefully, this gift will show a little of how thankful I am. Again, Merry Christmas! From, Takeru."

The brunette looked at her best friend with a face of surprise and disbelief. "You were my Secret Santa?"

"WHAT?! NO WAY!!!" Daisuke blew up.

When Takeru first found out, he couldn't believe it either; by randomly drawing a piece of folded paper from a hat, what were the chances his best friend's name would be on it? And yet, it was. While he didn't care who's name he drew, deep down, he was secretly very happy he was Hikari's Secret Santa.

Of course, that was before he went out to look for a present. Being best friends, Takeru imagined that finding her a gift would be easy. But for some reason, it was one of the hardest things to do. Nothing seemed to stand out as a satisfying gift as the blonde searched through store after store. Also, it didn't help that he had to be extremely discreet about it. Him and Hikari hung out almost on a daily basis, making it even more difficult to buy something without her noticing. On top of that, he had basketball practices which took up a major portion of his time. At one point Takeru was so frustrated, he almost wished he wasn't the brunette's Secret Santa.

He smiled at Hikari. "Yep. Fooled you, eh?"

She continued to have a surprised look as if she completely wasn't expecting Takeru to be her Secret Santa.

"Are…you going to open it?" Yamato asked.

She snapped out of her trance and apologized. "I'm sorry everyone for the wait."

She opened the brown bag and found a small wrapped gift. As she started to unwrap her present, Takeru remembered how his gift-searching problems all went away in one day.

* * *

"_Are you sure this is a short-cut, Takeru?" Hikari asked while holding Gatomon in her arms._

"_Yes, I'm positive." The blonde answered. _

"_Because it seems like we've walked more than we normally do taking the regular way."_

"_Hey, you're the one who wants ice cream. Who wants ice cream in the middle of winter?"_

_The brunette giggled. "It's never too cold for ice cream."_

"_Whatever you say." Takeru mumbled._

_They walked past a line of stores as he looked around, hoping to spot something, anything, that would be a sufficient gift for his best friend._

"_How's basketball practice coming along?" Hikari asked._

"_Hm? It's ok. I'm really sore from it but I guess it's necessary. Play-offs are coming soon."_

"_You seem to be really busy with basketball and all."_

"_I'm ok."_

"_Ok?" Patamon interrupted from the top of Takeru's head. "He comes home and he falls asleep on the floor because he's too tired to walk to his bed."_

_The Digidestined of Light gave a worried look to her counterpart. "That's not healthy."_

_He shrugged. "It's only a couple times. I wouldn't worry about it." He gave her a reassuring smile._

"_But still." Gatomon persisted. "You shouldn't be drained that much. Are you eating right?"_

_Takeru chuckled. "Yes, yes. Since when did you three start ganging up on me?"_

_Hikari just gave him a knowing look before she decided to change the topic. "Seriously, Takeru. Are you sure this is right? We've been walking for an awfully long time."_

"_Actually, I'm not sure anymore. This is my first time taking this route too. Yamato told me this was a shortcut." _

"_Takeru!" Both Patamon and Gatomon moaned. His partner kicked him from on top of his head._

"_Ow! I'm sorry! But Yamato sounded so sure of himself!"_

_The blonde stopped his complaint and watched as Hikari suddenly stopped at one of the stores. She took a closer took at something at the show display._

"_See something, Hikari?" The Bearer of Hope asked._

"_Wow, it's beautiful…look at it Takeru!" His best friend urged._

_He looked over her shoulders and saw what she was staring at: a small but shiny necklace with a very familiar shape in the middle._

"_It looks like your symbol of Light." Gatomon observed._

_Takeru shook his head in realization. Yes, it did look like her crest; that's why it was so familiar to him. The crest symbol was extravagant, shiny brightly with a single diamond as the centerpiece for the symbol._

"_I know! Wow…it's so pretty." The basketball player could tell she was drawn to it and he couldn't help her. It was her crest._

"_How much do you think it is?" She asked._

_He looked up at the store. "It's an antique shop."_

"_Probably really expensive then…" She sighed in disappointment. Then she back away from the display and smiled. "Well, we should get going. I need to be back home soon and we still haven't gotten ice cream yet."_

"_Right." Takeru took a quick glance around to remember the area before he followed along. He had a feeling he would be coming back to the area…_

* * *

"Oh my…" Hikari's eyes grew wide as she opened her gift. She immediately recognized the necklace and gave Takeru another disbelieving stare.

"Whoa. Nice one, lil bro." Yamato remarked.

"Oh my god! It's so _pretty! _And it has your crest on it!" Sora exclaimed.

Ken whistled. "Must have cost you a pretty penny."

Daisuke's jaw was simply agape as he stared at the gift.

"God! My gift better be this good!" Miyako remarked while marveling at the necklace.

"Where did you find this, Takeru?" Sora asked.

Before the blonde could answer, Hikari spoke up, "At an antique shop. Him and I saw it one day while walking to the ice cream parlor. I told him I thought it was pretty but I never…" She stopped her sentence and became quiet.

"Antique shop? This must have cost a lot then." Izumi added.

"Don't worry about it! It's Christmas! It's not about prices, right?" Takeru defended himself. "It's about sharing and receiving. I knew Hikari really wanted this and I happened to have the money. It's no big deal." He knew he failed at downplaying the situation.

"Wow, impressive." Taichi stated as he inspected the necklace. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you had a thing for my sister." he joked.

After they all took a couple more minutes to examine the gift, they decided to move on, in request of Takeru's wishes.

"Well, Takeru, that means you're up."

The blonde got off the couch and made his way to the gifts. He was so busy and worried about getting Hikari a gift, he completely forgot he was receiving a gift. Curious as to who had him, he looked through the gifts. He came upon a medium sized blue gift and saw that it had his name on it. He found the card and opened it, reading, "Dear Takeru, When I first saw I had you, I thought it would be easy finding you a gift. But I realized, it was actually one of the most difficult things I ever had to do. But, I found something that I hope you like and enjoy! Merry Christmas and thank you for everything!" He stopped to re-read the last part. Not believing it, he re-re-read the note. Finally, he slowly stated, "From…Hikari."

He looked up to see that everyone else looked amused and surprised. Hikari spoke up, "That's why I couldn't believe Takeru had me. The chances of us having each other…"

"Are about 52 to 1." Ken finished her sentence.

"Wow. You guys got really lucky." Iori commented.

Yamato shrugged. "It's definitely rare but it's not that big of a deal." He turned to his little brother and smiled. "Let's just forget about it and just open the gift."

Deep down, Takeru was thankful for his brother's actions; he wasn't feeling comfortable with all the attention he was getting surrounding the issue. While it was indeed lucky, with the odds against him, he was hoping it wouldn't cause a big commotion.

He started to unwrap his gift. Curiosity overtook him as he thought about what Hikari would have gotten him. He never really told her anything about what he wanted so it was interesting to see what his best friend thought he needed or wanted. When he finished taking off the wrapping paper, he opened the box to see a hat; a hat almost identical to his favorite hat. But as he examined it closer, he saw that it had a distinct difference: the Crest of Hope was engraved in yellow stitching on the front of the white hat.

Takeru was taken back. Of all things to expect, a hat with his crest symbol on it was the last thing he had in mind. He took the hat and grinned at Hikari. Then, taking off his old hat, he put on the new hat.

"Thanks, Hikari."

The brunette simply gave a smile in return.

"Looks good on you, Takeru." Sora noted.

"Yeah. It suites you." Taichi added.

"Yeah? I like it." The blonde gave a smile as he took his seat. He glanced over at his best friend, trying to make eye contact, but she did not turn her head in his direction. Meanwhile, the rest of the Digidestined went up and got their gifts. As each person opened their gifts, Takeru tried to get the brunette's attention but failed each time; it was almost like she was ignoring him.

After all the presents were opened, everyone went about their own business, conversing with each other, talking about their individual gifts. He took the time to search out Hikari; for some reason, he had an urge to talk to her. She was out on the balcony, talking with Gatomon. When he entered the balcony, the Bearer of Light smiled at him.

"Hey you."

"Hey. I was looking for you." The blonde stood next to the brunette. He noticed Gatomon quietly leave.

"I was just here, getting some air." She stared at the view.

A silence grew between the two of them. Takeru knew something was bothering his best friend but was somewhat reluctant to ask; he had a feeling he was a reason why she was so bothered.

"It was…interesting how we got each other as Secret Santa." He slowly brought up.

"Hmm." She looked up at her best friend and looked at him in the eyes.

"Takeru." She quietly started. "Do you believe in fate?"

It was a random question that caught him off guard. He thought about it and decided upon an answer to give. In the end, he decided it was best to just tell the truth.

"Well, yeah. I mean, Isn't it fate that chose us to be the Digidestined?"

"I suppose. But do you believe in fate outside of anything related to the Digital World? Like fate in the real world?"

Takeru scratched his head. "I guess. I'd like to think everything happens for a reason." He looked at her strangely. "Why are you asking this all of the sudden."

"No reason." The female smiled at him. "Do you like your hat?"

The blonde reached up and patted his head. "Do I? it's great Hikari. Thank you for it. Do you like yours?" He noticed she was wearing the necklace.

The brunette nodded. "Yes. Thank you for the thoughtful gift. I still can't believe you got it for me."

He shook his head. "It's no big deal. I'm just glad you like it."

Hikari stared into Takeru's eyes. Her crimson brown eyes pierced his own. He stared back, getting caught up in the mixed emotions he was able to detect from her eyes. She had an almost questioning and confused vibe, as if she was unsure of something. Before he could ask, they were interrupted as someone opened the screen door to the balcony.

"Hey, you two. The others want to karaoke more. Want to join?" Yamato asked.

Before Takeru could answer, Hikari nodded and walked past his older brother inside. Still bothered by the feeling he got from his best friend, he just stared after her.

"You coming?" His brother asked.

The Child of Hope broke out of his thoughts and smiled. "Yeah. Sure." While it still bothered him, he decided to forget about it for the time being; he could ask her about it some other time. For now, all he wanted to do was spend Christmas with his friends. But deep down, he knew what was bothering Hikari and also knew, it bothered him just as much.

Read and Review!


	5. Accept my Love

Thanks for the reviews guys. You all are extremely supportive and so nice. Haha. I'm glad you guys like the story and because of your support, I'll almost done with the story. Hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 5

"All right, gentlemen. Before I go on, I want all of you to know, I'm very proud of all of you. In all my years of coaching, I have never coached a team as talented as you boys." The Odaiba basketball coached paused. "But talent can only take us so far."

Takeru watched as his coach paced back and forth in front of the basketball team. They had just finished practice and were sitting in the locker room for a team meeting.

"As you all know, we are days away from the big dance." The coach was referring to their recent success. Odaiba, in the course of a couple weeks, had beaten all their opponents in the play-offs and were in the national finals. It was only the second time in the whole school's history that Odaiba had been seen in the finals.

The last couple weeks seemed like a blur for the star basketball player. Right after winter break ended, their play-off run started. Each game had a high intensity and pressure level as the team continued to advance. The whole school, getting caught up with the possibility of bringing the title as national champions to their school, attended each game, rooting and cheering as Takeru had never heard before. And they desperately needed it. Each game became harder and harder as the teams got better and better. But despite the increasing difficulty of their opponents, the team had found ways to survive. Now, through their struggles and hard work, they were one win away from bringing Odaiba it's first high school championship.

"The finals, boys. The finals. It's the grand stage. The game where heroes are born and opportunities open. Our opponent, as you all know, are no push-over. Tokyo High are a basketball squad unlike any we are used to playing against." Their coach explained. "Jean Sato is their star guard. He was named Conference Player of the Year and is considered as one of the best at the high school level. It'll take all our wit, all our will power, to overcome this guy."

"It's ok coach." Frank, one of the players, remarked. "We have the 'Freshman Sensation.' on our side." The whole team chuckled. The star player rolled his eyes; his nickname only grew among his teammates as they continued to play throughout the play-offs.

"Even with Takeru playing his best, it'll be a hard fight boys. I don't want you guys to underestimate these guys. They swept through the regular season with a perfect record. They have won the national title two years straight now. And they pretty much dominated every statistics; they are top in rebounding, points, field goal, and free throws. But if we continue to play at the level we've been playing at recently, we should give them a hell of a ride. Now, with the game a couple days away, I want all of you to rest tonight and tomorrow. No practice until the big game." This caused a sudden mumbling throughout the locker room. The coach continued. "I don't want any one tired or injured before the game. So, take these next couple days to relax. And come back with fire and desire to win. All right boys, go home and rest well." The coach ended his speech as he entered his office. The locker room went loud as soon as the speech was over, with people chatting and lockers slamming. Takeru was conversing with his teammates when his coach asked for him to come to his office. Fully dressed and ready to go home, the blonde picked up his bag, put on his hat, and entered the coach's room.

"What's up, coach?"

His coach looked up at him from his desk. "Takeru, I just wanted to ask if everything's ok."

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"Well, son, you don't look well."

"Really?" He was surprised. While he didn't care too much of how he appeared, it was the first time someone commented negatively on his look.

"Yeah. You seem to have no energy. It was evident in today's practice. Hell, it was clear in the past few practices. And you look sick. Are you eating right?"

He thought about it and replied, "Yeah. I haven't changed my eating habit."

"Do you feel all right?" His coach eyed him suspiciously.

"Of course." He lied. The truth was, he was feeling a great deal of fatigue and unsteadiness in the past few days. It wasn't just basketball that was affecting him though; he was stressed over many things. School was getting harder to concentrate as he would often sleep through classes due to being too tired from basketball. And, to add on to it, he and Hikari were having personal problems.

Since the Christmas party, the two hardly hung out or saw each other. At first, Takeru wanted to just give his best friend some time, hoping that it would die down. But after a week of no change, he started to worry that their friendship was in danger. But despite his fret, he was unable to do anything about it. Hikari always seemed out of reach, either too busy or not available whenever he asked to hang out. Of course, he would catch a glimpse of her in class, after school, or at a basketball game, but never found the opportunity to talk to the brunette. Part of the reason was his fault, because of the basketball pressure and commitment but, at the same time, it was also her doing that caused the rift to grow; he knew she was ignoring him but didn't know why. Tired and frustrated, he knew he was growing weary mentally but didn't think his outward appearance would show it.

"Well, ok." The basketball coach continued. "I cancelled practice tomorrow mainly because of you. Because I feel you need it and all."

The blonde nodded.

"And…I know I've been over-working you, Takeru. Unfortunately, that's the price to pay for being the captain of the team. And you've been phenomenal this season. Quite possibly the best player I've coached yet. So, just bear with me for one more game and you'll be done."

"Thanks coach." he smiled wearily.

"No problem. Go home and get some sleep." With that, the coach dismissed his star player. Takeru left the office and made his way out of the locker room; most of the other guys had left already. As he closed the door behind him, he couldn't help but sigh. It bothered him that others were starting to worry about him based on his appearance. He began to wonder if he really looked that bad.

"Takeru!"

He reverted his attention toward the direction he heard his name and saw Daisuke rushing to him. He was a little surprised to see the other Digidestined at school on Saturday, espeically so late.

"Hey Daisuke. What's up?"

"I was going to say the same thing to you!"

"Well…I had practice."

"Oh, right. Well, I had…detention."

"Detention?"

"Yeah! Like it's my fault that Mr. Yokohama is so boring that I can't stay awake for his class!" Daisuke protested.

Takeru chuckled as the two of them walked their way to the front of the school.

"Hey, Takeru…I have to ask but are you okay?"

"Huh?"

"Well, the others are too chicken to ask but I figure who cares." The brown spiky haired boy commented. "It's just you look a little pale."

"Oh yeah. You know, someone else told me that earlier." Takeru scratched his head and gave the other Dig destined a weak smile. "I'm fine. Just been stressed out lately because of the games and all."

"Uh huh. And Hikari was wondering how you were doing too."

The blonde gave a curious glance to his counterpart. "She…told you this?"

Daisuke shook his head. "Nah. I overheard her talking to Miyako about it which kind of confused me; Why was she asking _Miyako_ how _you _were doing?"

"Oh. Well…I don't know." He lied.

The leader of the new Digidestined gave him a knowing look. "I never took you for a liar, Takeru."

The blonde sighed. Daisuke continued slowly, "Is everything ok with you and Hikari?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure."

"What happened?"

"I really don't know."

This caused the normally obnoxious boy to be silent as they walked. The silence continued to fill the air until they reached the school's front gate.

"Hey Takeru." Daisuke finally broke the silence. "Um…I know it's not my place to say anything and that it's none of my business but I really think you should talk to Hikari; she's been pretty down lately."

The statement surprised the Digidestined of Hope. "Wow, Daisuke. You of all people. I thought you were jealous of me and Hikari. Why don't you cheer her up?"

The other boy shrugged. " Come on Takeru. Everyone knows that that's a joke. I mean, she's a great friend but I'm not sure if I could see her as my girl friend."

"What? Really? Why the change?"

"I don't know. The more I thought about it, the more it didn't seem _right. _Me and her together…it's like something I can't imagine."

"Hm… you took a lot of time thinking about this huh?"

The soccer player laughed. "Yeah. It was something I've accepted. Anyways, back to the topic. I think you should see her. I mean, you're her best friend and everything. If anyone can cheer her up, it's you."

Takeru couldn't help but smile at his friend's stubborn efforts. "Ok, Daisuke. I will."

"All right. Well, I should head out before Jun starts worrying about me. Take care Takeru." He slapped the blonde on the back and ran off.

The star basketball player stood and watched Daisuke run off, trying to comprehend their latest conversation. It shocked him to know how mature the other Digidestined handled everything. And his latest confession about Hikari truly surprised him. He never really expected Daisuke to ponder so deeply about anything, let alone about his situation with Hikari. It almost put the immature and loud boy into perspective.

Takeru shook his head and smiled. Then again, Daisuke was always full of surprises. He started to walk back to his apartment as he pondered about Hikari and why she was down. Not talking with her for almost two weeks really left him in the dark so it was hard to pinpoint what was bothering her.

He sighed once again. Maybe he was suppose to leave her alone. It was clear to him that she didn't want his company otherwise she would've contacted him about it. While it still bothered him that she would suddenly cut him out of her life, he respected all her decisions she made. Mentally tired, Takeru shrugged off the issue and just kept walking to his apartment.

* * *

Yamato was sitting on the coach, watching TV when he got home. He remembered that his older brother was staying with him for a couple days. As he entered the apartment, the older blonde turned his head and greeted his brother.

"Hey Takeru."

"Hey Yamato. Is mom home?"

"Nah. She went out for something."

Takeru threw his bag into his room and made his way to the coach. He sat in the coach and tried to relax; he didn't notice his older brother giving him a concerned look as he rubbed his forehead.

"Everything ok, lil' guy?"

"Yeah. Just tired." He smiled weakly at the guitarist. "What did you do today?"

"Eh. Nothing. Practice. Hung out with Sora. Came here and watched TV for…" he checked his watch. "about five hours."

"Man, I wish I could do that."

"I can't believe you had practice on Saturday."

"Ugh. I know. I can't wait until this season is over." The Digidestined of Hope closed his eyes. "But I guess it's understandable. I mean, it's the finals."

"I guess." His older brother shrugged. "Oh, by the way, what time is the game?"

"Six. On Monday. You going to come?"

"Ha. Of course I'm coming to my brother's biggest game ever." He remarked in his hoarse voice. "Besides, I think all of Odaiba is going. Don't want to be left out, you know?"

"Yeah…a lot of people are going huh?"

"Yeah man. I haven't seen people here _this_ worked up about something since Myotismon invaded the Real World. It's like the talk of the city."

"Man. That's pretty intense."

"Yep. Bigger than any concert I ever held. You sure you're not choking under pressure?" Yamato joked. When he got no response back, he cleared his throat. "Um…I was joking, Takeru."

"Oh, I know. I was just thinking…" He abruptly got up. "I need to go to the bathroom."

He made his way to the bathroom and splashed water onto his face. He looked at himself in the mirror and was shocked at what he saw: he looked horrible. He gave a double glance at himself, trying to see what was wrong. He was pale and had bags under his eyes. On top of that, he looked skinner than normal. The blonde rubbed his chin as he continued to inspect himself. He slightly shook his head as he exited the bathroom.

Yamato was still in the same spot, watching TV. Takeru chuckled. "You ever going to move or is it already too late to try?"

"Too late." His brother replied nonchalantly.

Takeru sat down next to Yamato and watched a lame soap drama on TV with him. As he watched, he felt compelled to ask the fellow Digidestined something that he wanted to ask someone about.

"Have…you seen Hikari?" He asked slowly.

The Digidestined of Friendship shook his head. "Nope. Why, is everything ok?"

Slightly disappointed, he replied, "Oh, just wondering."

Suddenly, his brother turned off the TV and stared at him. "Wait…did _you_ ask _me_ if _I've_ seen Hikari?"

"Um…yeah?"

"Ok. I may not be the smartest when it comes to picking up something wrong but this is just plain obvious. What happened with you two?"

Hesitant to say anything at first, Takeru gave up; he trusted his brother more than anyone. If he didn't tell him, there would be no one the blonde could tell.

"Hikari and I are having problems."

"Like what?"

"Well, she's been ignoring me for the past two weeks. I haven't really talked to her since that Christmas party. I think there's something wrong but I can't say anything because she hasn't come to me about it. I think she might be mad at me but I don't know for what. And every time I try to make time for her, either she ignores it or something else comes up for me like basketball or dealing wit mobs of girls or school." He let out all in one instance. Suddenly, he felt much more relieved. "And I'm completely stressed out because of everything."

"Well, I could tell. I didn't want to say anything but you look terrible, bro. And it's not just today but for the past few days."

"Gee, thanks."

"And the whole ordeal with Hikari…why don't you just call her?"

"I've tried." The younger blonde sighed. "She doesn't pick up."

"Ah. Well, that can't be good."

"I don't know anymore, Yamato. What should I do?"

"Hey, don't worry about it. You and Hikari are best friends. It'll take more than some stupid misunderstanding to break you two apart. You guys will be fine."

"You think so?"

His older brother smiled. "Yeah, of course."

"You and Hikari are two people I can't see separate from each other." Gabumon popped up out of nowhere.

"Hey Gabumon!" Takeru greeted. "Where did you come from?"

"I was just playing with Patamon in your room but he got tired so he's sleeping now." The Digimon replied. "Sorry for eavesdropping."

"It's ok." The Takaishi boy smiled. He then turned his attention to his brother. "I guess you're right."

"Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it." His older brother flipped his hair to the side. "Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, go for it?"

"Did you…ever have feelings for Hikari? Like, girlfriend/boyfriend feelings? Be honest, lil bro."

Takeru thought about it. He never told anyone about his true feelings for the brunette. But, he was mentally tired and decided to give up with the secrecy. "Well…yeah, I _did_. I mean, since I moved back to Odaiba and reformed the Digidestined, I've liked her."

"What happened?"

The blonde took his hat off. "Nothing. I just grew up, I guess."

Yamato gave his younger brother a confused look. "Grew up?"

"Yeah. I realized that it was a fruitless emotion that wasn't going to go anywhere. She would never feel the same back toward me and I knew that."

"Wait, wait. Still, you can't just stop liking someone because of that."

The Bearer of Hope pondered about it before answering. "To tell you the truth, I don't think I ever stopped liking her. I just took all those feelings and suppressed them. You know, kept them at bay."

Yamato and Gabumon gave each other glances. The rock star spoke up, "Takeru…that's not healthy. How can you bottle up your emotions like that? Especially for someone you like?"

Takeru shrugged and gave them both a fake smile. "It's ok."

"Did you ever tell Hikari this?"

"Of course not. It's too risky."

"Too risky? What's at risk?"

"Our friendship." Takeru sighed. "One of the downsides of being best friends with someone you like. I mean, can you imagine how awkward it would be if I told her I liked her and she didn't like me back? It would destroy our friendship. I'd lose her forever."

"But you don't know that. For all you know, she could like you back." Gabumon pitched in.

"Nah. I doubt it."

"You know, for the Digidestined of Hope, you're not very hopeful." Yamato commented, raising his eyebrow at his younger brother.

"Bro. You have to tell her. It's not right. That kind of stuff eats a person up."

"But…our friendship, Yamato. It's not worth it."

"You know, I've sat back and watched you two go at it, letting you two decide your own futures. But now I realize, you both need help. Bad." Yamato grabbed his younger brother by the shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Takeru. You have to tell her. It's crazy to hide your emotions like that. I mean, you're right. You would risk your friendship. But trust me, you're going to regret not telling her. It's better to just tell her and see what happens. I mean, what if you're wrong? What if she likes you back but is afraid to show it? Have you ever thought of that?"

The younger blonde sighed. "I guess…"

Yamato let go of his brother. "Just a suggestion, lil man. But take it to heart. And seriously think about it. Ok?"

"Ok. Thanks Yamato." Takeru got up. "I think I'm going to go to bed to take a nap."

The older male nodded. As Takeru entered his room and closed the door behind him, Yamato sighed.

"Kids these days…"

"I don't' remember you going through with this stress before you asked Sora out." Gabumon commented.

"That's because I wasn't afraid. Takeru is…terrified; I can tell. Man…this is sad…" He just shook his head as he turned the TV back on. "Hopefully, everything will work out…"

* * *

Takeru laid in bed, unable to rest, unable to sleep. He checked his alarm clock; it was almost a hour since he told his older brother he was going to take a nap and he was still awake. He was thinking too much to sleep. He thought about what Yamato told him and seriously pondered about the possibilities. He sighed out loud as he stared up at the ceiling.

"Patamon…you awake?"

"Yep. Been awake since you entered the room."

"Oh. Ok." A silence filled the room. The blonde scratched his head. "Hey Patamon. Can I ask you something?"

"Sure Takeru." He heard Patamon wings flapping and saw him land on top of the bed mattress.

"I was taller than Hikari right? Back when we were little kids and fighting the Darks Masters, I mean. I was taller than her back then right?"

Patamon paused before answering, "Umm…I don't think so Takeru. Your hat gave you a couple inches but even then, you were her height. Without the hat, I think you were shorter."

"No way." Takeru chuckled. "Really? Darn…I guess she was right…"

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason." He continued to stare off to the ceiling, thinking. For some reason, his thoughts always lead to memories of back long ago when Hikari and he were little kids, fighting evil Digimon and protecting the Digital World together. He recollected their fight against Piedmon and how he told her he would protect her. He smiled at how innocent she was back in and how trusting she was. She trusted her life with him despite knowing full well that he too was only a eight year old. That was what gave him confidence to continue to fight and never give up. That was what lead to the eventual defeat of the evil Dark Master. In a sense, if it wasn't for Hikari, he seriously doubted he would have been so hopeful in such a dark moment.

The thought of the past suddenly made him drowsy and tired. His mind started to wander off into different tangents as memories of irrelevant moments started to come up. He then found himself imagining what it would be like to hold Hikari in his arms, not as a friend, but as an accepted boyfriend.

He saw himself at a park, sitting, with his back on a tree. The sun was setting in front of him as the red-ish orange hue reflected off the sky and clouds. He imagined Hikari lying next to him, with his arms around her slender waist. She was leaning on him, putting her head on his lowered shoulder and looking at the sun set with him. His own head was rested on top of the brunette's head and, with his free hand, was holding onto one of her hands, entangled together, gently but firmly. He continued to watch as she sighed in contentment.

Then, he heard himself whisper, "I love you, Hikari."

"I know." The imaginary Hikari replied back. And while she didn't say she loved him back, the simple fact she accepted his love and was now in his arms was more than enough for the young boy.

With the image in head, Takeru found himself drifting off into slumber and, before he knew, was sleeping contently and peacefully for the first time in a long while.

Read and Review please!


	6. Realization on both spectrums

My last installment of this story. Hope you enjoy! (HINT: pay attention to the time)

Chapter 6

_4:50 PM_

"Takeru… Wakey, wakey, lil bro."

The blonde lazily lifted his head from his pillow and blinked slowly. He groaned and let his head flop back on his pillow.

"Go away, Yamato." He mumbled.

"No way. You told me to wake you up! Dude, you took a two hour nap."

"I don't care."

Before he could drift back to sleep, he felt a large burst of air bash him from above, hitting the back of his head. Stinging from the pain, the Child of Hope groaned out loud and lifted himself off his bed. Still half asleep, he yawned.

"I hate you." He stated grumpily. He eyed Patamon. "You too. You didn't have to boom bubble me."

His older brother chuckled as he tossed him a duffle bag. "Whatever. Get ready. You said you had to be at school a hour before the game." With that, the Digidestined of Friendship left the room.

Takeru yawned again as he sighed deeply. The big moment had finally arrived. The whole day, he heard people from all over the school wishing him luck and cheering him on; it was almost impossible to concentrate in school because of the build up and pestering. As soon as school had ended, the blonde walked home and decided to take a nap, warning his brother to wake him up a hour before the game. Despite the fact it was a success, he was still grumpy that he had to wake up.

Patamon flew over and landed on top of Takeru's head, again prompting the blonde to snap out of his sleepy trance.

"Takeru, you need to start getting ready." His Digimon reminded him.

"I know." Despite his slow preparation and anticipation, the basketball player couldn't wait to get the big game over with. Deep inside, he didn't care if Odaiba won or lost the game; just the fact it would be over was relieving and satisfying. As he packed his basketball equipment and attire, he started to think about the game ahead of him. That is, until he felt a slight pain on the top of his head.

"Ow. Why did you kick me?" He directed to Patamon.

"Hurry up! You're so sluggish right now! Your game is going to start soon!"

"Yes, mother." Takeru commented sheepishly. He felt his Digimon fly off his head. The Digidestined zipped up his bag and looked around his room to check if he had everything.

Before he could inspect in detail, he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." Sora entered with a warm smile on her face.

"Hey, Takeru. Just wanted to check up on you. I'll be cheering you on." She gave him the victory sign.

He grinned back at the motherly female. "Thanks Sora. I'll need it."

His brother appeared next to his girlfriend. "Hey. Hurry up now. You should be going."

"Right, right." He reverted his attention back to his packing. As he put his basketball shoes in his bag, he couldn't help but think about the recent events that seemed to just blur by his life. Time seemed to fly by for him; it felt like only a week ago that he was getting ready for the beginning of high school. With basketball season, school, and his own life to take care of, the year felt so much faster than it really was.

Before his train of thought could process anymore, a sudden burst of air smacked the back of his head, propelling his hat to fly up and fall on the floor. The Digidestined of Hope turned around and gave his Digimon a knowing glance.

"You like to do that, don't you?"

"Hurry up! It's 5:10 and you said you needed to be at school at 5:00! Why aren't you more worried?" Patamon scolded.

The blonde picked up his hat and brushed off some of the dirt. "I am. It's just everyone around me is worrying and fretting about this game so much, I feel like I don't really have to think about it; I mean, I'm already constantly being reminded about it." He took a moment to look at his hat; it was the hat that Hikari had given him. He stared at the crest of hope that was engraved on it and smiled in reminiscence.

"Besides," he continued as he put his hat on, "I'm the Digidestined of Hope, remember? I'm not suppose to worry."

Patamon flew and landed on top of Takeru's head. "Lame excuse. You ready to go?"

"Yeah." He picked up his bag. "Let's go."

* * *

_5:45 PM_

Hikari sighed. She fidgeted her fingers, looked at the grass on the ground, and frowned. She was sitting down, next to the Odaiba pond, contemplating the serious issue that had troubled her for weeks. She looked up and saw that the sun was setting, giving off a fiery hue in the sky. Still, the quietness and serenity of the pond in front of her soothed her insides. It was windy, prompting the young girl to instinctively brush her hair from getting all over her face, despite the fact she had hairclips in place that held her hair firmly. A sudden movement caught her eye as she glanced at the bushes near her.

"Gatomon…Did you catch the mouse?"

Her feline Digimon popped out of the bushes. "Nope. Got away." With that, she jumped onto Hikari's lap and sat down. "What were you thinking about?"

The brunette smiled as she petted Gatomon. "Oh, the same old. Hoping Taichi didn't cause havoc in the house before he left for the game, wondering if mom will come home to cook dinner, and if I should buy that sweater I saw yesterday."

Her Digimon looked up at her. "You're a horrible liar. Especially to me because I can tell whenever you lie."

Hikari giggled. "I know. It was worth a shot though." She scratched Gatomon behind her ear. The feline purred in response.

"You were thinking about Takeru again, huh?"

No response came from the young girl. She just continued to scratch, her eyes wavering in deep thought.

"Aren't you suppose to go to his game today?"

She sighed. She checked her watch; only fifteen minutes away from the big game. But she knew it didn't matter.

"I…don't think I'll be going."

"You're really going through with this? When you told me you weren't going to go before, I thought you were joking."

"I can't, Gatomon. It's too complicated right now." The Digidestined of Light stated quietly.

"But you've been to every game beforehand. Don't you think it'll be…awkward if he doesn't see you at this game?"

Hikari chuckled sadly. "I'm sure he doesn't even notice me. With all the other girls swarming him and all." The thought of Takeru being idolized and adored by so many girls troubled her greatly; she mentally pushed away the thoughts.

"You'd be surprised…" Gatomon left her partner's lap and stretched. "But, whatever you do, I'll support you, Hikari."

"Thanks, Gatomon."

"However, I still think you should tell Takeru and explain to him what's going on."

The brunette stared at the pond, deep in thought. "I don't know how to approach it. God, it's been on my mind for so long and I've always imagined how I would tell him…" She paused. "Besides, he's so kind and nice to me…I don't know how to explain it."

"Hikari!" A voice boomed throughout the park. The young girl turned her head in the direction of a running Daisuke, heading in her direction. She chuckled softly; while many people found the boy obnoxious and rude, she found him funny and full of life, something she wished everyone could have. Always finding comfort in his silliness, she welcomed his presence most of the time.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be heading to the gym? Game's about to start." The goggled-head male asked.

She gave him a curious look. "I should ask the same. Why are you here in the park? It's longer going through the park to school."

"Oh, I know. I'm coming back from my friend's house, that's why. And I'm probably going to be late but that's why I told Miyako to save me a seat." He grinned in satisfaction.

"You keep taking advantage of Miyako like that and she'll complain about you more." Hikari giggled. She paused to look around. "Where's Demi-Veemon?"

"Oh, he's already at the gym. Again, Miyako. Wait, how come you're not there? The game is going to start in like fifteen minutes!"

The young girl sighed. After debating on whether to lie to Daisuke, she decided to tell the truth, seeing as no point in lying.

"I'm not going." She stated.

The spiky haired Digidestined gave a startled look. "Really? But why? You've been to every game so far. Why would you miss the biggest game of them all?"

"It's…complicated."

"But…" Before he could finish, Hikari saw Gatomon give him a glance, prompting Daisuke to stop his pestering. While she felt bad for her friend, she was glad her Digimon halted the probing.

In response, Daisuke shrugged his shoulders and scratched his head. "Ok…I guess I'll see you around. I have to go to the gym."

The brunette nodded. "Bye. Tell me how the game goes later." With that, her fellow Digidestined turned around and started running in the direction of the school. When he was out of her sight, she turned to Gatomon.

"Thanks, Gatomon."

The feline shrugged. "No problem, Hikari. But I only did it because you are my Digidestined. If you were anyone else, I would have left you hanging dry. I really don't agree with all this secrecy and hiding you do; it's not healthy. And it's not fair to your friends. Especially Takeru."

Again, the Child of Light sighed in sadness. "I know, I know. I feel bad, I really do. But…what else can I do?"

* * *

_5:51 PM_

Daisuke continued his run, in an attempt to get to the school's gym in time before the game started. While running, he couldn't help but think of what he had heard. The whole incident with Hikari shocked him, to say the least; he couldn't remember a game that the girl didn't go watch. To make it even more surprising was that it was the most important game of the season that she wasn't going to see. While normally oblivious and unmindful, even he knew something was wrong with his friend.

It bothered him to see Hikari so different. She hadn't been her self for the past couple weeks and it made the young boy uncomfortable. Unsure how to handle the sudden change, he tried to leave the brunette alone, hoping that time would change her back to her old self. But his recent encounter with Hikari showed him that nothing had changed. And what made it worse was that he didn't even know what was causing his friend to be so different. Without a source to blame or something to point out as a problem, he couldn't help her. The most reasonable thing to do was to talk to her and find out what the problem was but, for some reason, he felt it was out of his place to do so.

Daisuke pondered deeply and stopped in his tracks. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He had to push aside his pride and his conscious and do whatever he needed to do to help his fellow Digidestined.

He knew what he had to do.

* * *

_6:16 PM_

She checked her watch again. The young brunette bit her lower lip, as if in contemplation, and finally sighed in resignation.

"You know, checking your watch every five minutes isn't going to change the fact that you're not there at the game." Gatomon pointed out while lying next to Hikari.

"I know. I guess it's too late to regret now; game's already started. I just hope we win."

The Digimon sighed. "You really make things difficult on yourself."

Hikari smiled as she wistfully stared off into the horizon. "I know. But sometimes, this is the best way for everyone."

"What about for you?" The feline got up. "You always think about others and worry about how other people feel. But you never take time to think about yourself and what you need. I don't understand why you feel you need to sacrifice your own feelings for the sake of others; you're going to kill yourself that way. Sometimes, you have to be selfish and take what you want and need, Hikari." She ended her lecture and gave her human counterpart a knowing look. When she got a shrug as the girl's only response, the Digimon sighed and sat down next to her.

Hikari was still sitting in the park, the same position she was in for the past hour. The sunset was starting to fade away as the stars were becoming more visible. Still, it wasn't too dark and, to the girl, it was still very peaceful. The temperature had dropped a bit but luckily, she was wearing a black soft knit cardigan, cut long with a deep-v neckline over her light pink shirt to keep her cozy. Regardless change of environment around her, she was very comfortable and didn't feel like moving.

Besides, the quietness and peace was a perfect setting for the deep thinking that she needed to do. However, despite a hour of pondering, she hadn't solved anything, even complicating the matter more in her head.

She sighed once more as she glanced at her watch once more.

"I wonder how Takeru's doing in the game…" She asked herself out-loud.

"I have a feeling he's not doing so well, considering that he's not playing." A very familiar voice replied from behind her. The brunette turned her body and gaped at who she saw.

"T-Takeru?" She couldn't believe it. At first, she thought she was seeing things but after blinking a couple times, the image wouldn't disappear; Takeru was standing before her, wearing a somewhat large, dark green hoodie with a pair of jeans along with the hat that Hikari gave him for Christmas. He was grinning at her, most likely for her apparent shock and her loss of words.

"Surprised to see me?" He asked in a playful tone.

The brunette didn't answer as she just remained seated, staring, as if seeing a ghost. She was able to see from the corner of her eye Gatomon discreetly disappear into a nearby bush.

"I'll take that as a yes." He sat down next to her and gazed at the pond, acting as if nothing was wrong. Finally, the young girl came to her sense and shook her head in disbelief.

"Takeru…you're suppose to be at the game!" She managed to get out.

The blonde gave her a curious glance. "So are you."

"But…your team! You're suppose to be playing right now! What are you _doing_ here?!" She realized that she was almost panicking and took a second to clam down. "You're not even suited up. What happened?"

Her best friend shrugged his shoulders. "I was in the locker room, about to change until Daisuke barged in and told me he saw you here and that you weren't coming to the game. He told me something was wrong with you and that I should talk to you about it." He then gave her one of his goofy smiles. "So, I told the coach something came up and left."

"_What?" _She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Takeru had ditched the most important game of the season and probably one of the most important games in Odaiba High School's history for her.

"Coach understood. In fact, he took it a lot better than I thought he would. Anyways, it's no big deal."

"No big deal? Takeru, your game…"

He gazed at her as he smiled. "Your--" he paused for a second, as if to think about something. "_You _are more important to me than some stupid game. Besides, you have no idea how much I dreaded this game. I'm so relieved that it's off my shoulders finally."

Hikari looked into his cerulean eyes and saw no signs of regret, remorse, or deceit; she only saw happiness.

"But…"

"Believe me, Hikari." The blonde interrupted her. "Believe me when I say I'm more than happy to miss that game for you. And that I couldn't be more relieved that I did so."

The brunette shook her head and chuckled in defeat.

"Your coach didn't say anything?" she asked.

"Nope. Nothing at all."

The brunette sighed and gave her fellow Digidestined a weak smile. "Well, then, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too." A silence followed as they reverted their attention to the pond. They admired the beauty of the peace and serenity together.

* * *

_6:38 PM_

"I haven't really talked to you in a while." Takeru stated while staring off. He and Hikari were both sitting and leaning against the same tree, using the tree as a support for their backs.

"Yeah…I guess we were both just really busy." The brunette answered.

The Child of Hope gave his counterpart a glance. "You and I both know that's a lie." Hikari didn't respond. She hoped he would drop it right there but knew it wasn't going to happen. "Why have you been avoiding me?" he asked.

She sighed. "Takeru…can we not talk about that?"

"Ok." A moment of silence followed. "What's bothering you then?"

"Nothing…nothing's bothering me."

"Ok. Then, why didn't you come to the game today? Why are you here, staring at the pond? What's going on in your life? Why don't we talk, walk, or hang out anymore?" He bombarded her.

The brunette turned her attention to her best friend and saw that he was distressed. She could tell that, despite his somewhat calm demeanor, the blonde had a aura of anger in him. For the first time in their entire relationship, Takeru was mad at her. But what really affected her was that, beneath the calm rage, she could see he was more hurt and sad than anything else. And it pained her to see him in such a position.

"Takeru…I can't really explain." That was all she could manage without revealing too much.

She watched as the blonde took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He rubbed his temple and frowned a bit. With that, he stood up.

"Well, then, I guess I'm wasting my time. And I guess I missed my game, worried everyday, thought about you constantly, and stressed for nothing." He stated coldly. With that, he turned and started to walk off.

"Wait." Hikari found herself getting up and grabbing her best friend's arm, stopping Takeru from moving any further. The brunette glanced away, staring at the ground.

"There's…something I need to tell you." She stated quietly, almost in a whisper tone.

"What is it?" The blonde asked in an equally soft tone.

The Digidestined of Light stared into his blue gentle eyes once more, letting herself get washed away in his gaze. She saw curiosity in his eyes, in almost an overwhelming fashion, and saw gentleness and kindness engraved in them. She saw a hint of boyish confusion, the same confusion that had remained in Takeru since he was eight years old, forever being part of his identity. And she saw sadness; sadness that their relationship had crumbled so much that neither one of them knew what to expect anymore out of it. But most importantly, she saw hope; hope that somehow, everything would turn around and things would be back to normal or even better off then they were before and that, someday, the two of them could look back on their uncomfortable moment and laugh about it together. Seeing that ray of faith, Hikari also became hopeful and prayed that she wouldn't regret what she was about to do.

"Takeru…Someone asked me out…And… I think I'm going to say yes."

* * *

_8:05 PM_

"And so, she told me how she and this guy from school started hanging out a lot after winter break had ended and that she started to have feelings for him. She said that she felt a close connection with him and she felt really happy being around him. The guy asked her out like a couple days ago but she said she needed time to think about it." Takeru paused. "She said she didn't know why she didn't tell me; she just felt uncomfortable talking about it with me, I guess. I mean, I guess it's harder to talk about that kind of stuff with guys? I don't know."

"I'm…sorry Takeru." Patamon softly replied. The blonde was back at home, in his room, lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling.

For some reason, Hikari's confession had a mixed reaction for him. Instead of feeling relieved and satisfied in knowing what was wrong between him and his best friend, he felt that everything had become even more complicated. After she told him the news, he could tell she wanted to talk about something, anything, else. But instead of staying with her and chatting, he lied to her, saying he needed to be back home soon, and left the park, needing time to ponder about the matter. What bothered him the was that he didn't know why he was so surprised about it; after all, Hikari was a beautiful young girl. He knew that someone would eventually ask her out and that she would eventually say yes.

But despite that, he wasn't sad. He was worried that everything might have become more complicated but he wasn't depressed or overwhelmed. His feelings for Hikari were strong and never died away. His talk with his older brother only reminded him how much he truly liked her and brought out a renewal of those feelings. He imagined that hearing the girl's news would devastate him or cause him to spiral down in a pool of depression but his reaction was quite mundane.

"Did…you ever tell her?" His Digimon broke his train of thought.

"Tell her what?"

"Tell her how you feel about her."

"Nah."

Patamon flew and landed on Takeru's chest. "Why? Why didn't you tell her?"

He didn't know how to explain it but after her confession, a realization hit the blonde. A realization that seemed to answer all his questions but at the same time, seemed to complicate the matter even more. It was this realization that explained why he couldn't risk their friendship for his own emotional sake and why he would probably not tell her how he felt about her. It explained why he felt so miserable during the couple weeks when he and Hikari were separated from one another and it also explained why he was willing to go the distance to make the brunette happy. It explained everything and yet, the ironic thing was, it was such a simple concept that took Takeru forever to acknowledge.

"Because…" Takeru smiled a little. "I love her."

* * *

_6:55 PM_

Hikari watched as Takeru walked away. He lied to her, saying that he had to be home for some unknown reason but she didn't call him out on it. In fact, she was relieved he was leaving the scene. When she was sure he was out of the park, she fell on her knees and closed her eyes.

"You lied to him." The Child of Light heard Gatomon state behind her.

"I know." She whispered back.

"I don't understand you, Hikari. You're just making this worse. Now, you have to live a lie." The feline scolded. "Instead of making up some story about some guy asking you out and you liking him back, why didn't you just tell him about your feelings?"

A tear dropped from the young girl's face. Suddenly, she snapped; unable to contain herself or hold her posture, tears started to slowly rain down her face. Gatomon saw this and instantly, her demeanor changed as pity swept her.

"Hikari…why do you do this to yourself? Tell him, please! You would be so much better and so much happier!" The Digimon pleaded. "I can't watch you sabotage your own emotions like this anymore!"

"But…our friendship…" The brunette weakly pointed out.

"Forget your friendship!" Gatomon shook her head. "You humans are so blind. So, you have a really good friendship with him. But what's the point of being friends with him if you're just going to be sad every time you see him, think about him, or talk to him? It's better to just risk it and just tell him!"

With her right hand, she reached up and held onto her necklace; the same necklace that her best friend had given her on Christmas. Their friendship meant more than anything to her; she knew that what she and Takeru had was special and that hardly anyone could even hope to have the bond that they shared. It was unique in the sense that they were always there for each other and understood one another better than even themselves sometimes. To lose that kind of feeling, to lose Takeru in general, was unbearable for the young girl and she knew she had to do whatever it took to safeguard their relationship. Even from herself. She just wished everything would go back to the way it was. Back when she and Takeru were just best friends, with nothing in between them, keeping everything simple. She cursed her feelings for changing everything.

"Why? Why do this to yourself?" Gatomon asked once more, full of sadness and pity.

"Because…" Hikari watched her tears hit the ground, one by one. "I love him."

T H E E N D


	7. Author's Note

-1

Author's Note

First off, I would like to thank everyone who took the considerate time to review on this fic. You may not realize it but those comments, appraising or critical, make all the difference to me. It shows me that you readers are interested in my story and that I have written something so well/poorly, that it actually deserved a minute of your time. Thank you.

After finishing this story, I must say, I am relieved that it came out decent. Seeing as this is my first story in a long while (almost a year since I last wrote creatively), I wanted to play safe with this little fanfic. By playing safe, I mean being simple and not complicating anything or making anything too complex. It was a straightforward storyline that I developed as to polish up on my writing skills.

The theme of this plot, if you haven't already picked up, is realization. It wasn't meant to be some dramatic, twisting, adventurous story about Takeru and Hikari but more or less about the eventual recognition of an emotional development between these two characters. I wanted to stray away from making this an adventure seeking fic and wanted to focus on growth of character. Each chapter is a representation of the slow progress that the couple make; hopefully I made it blatant to you readers. If not, that is my mistake as a writer. I know it may have seemed boring at times and it might have seemed like it was going either too slow or going nowhere at all, but that was the point; this is a _slow _maturity on the emotional level for these two. I didn't want to rush anything because, in real life, emotions like that don't just rapidly develop; they are slow and steady but eventually reach the point where they are recognizable. The focus wasn't on them particularity but on their eventual realization for the feelings they had for each other. But in the end, I couldn't help but regret restricting myself so much.

As I was writing this story, I started to have vivid imaginations and creative approaches as to how to make the plot better and better, taking a supposedly simple setting and conforming it into a series of adventures. Unfortunately, I had to stay on topic. And with all my will power, I pushed away my creative thinking and kept to the limits I had set myself originally. But believe me, I wanted to make this juicier, add more spice.

It is apparent my rust is there in my writing but I like to believe that some of it wore off while writing this fic. I actually tested myself a little to be more intricate on the last chapter, if you guys haven't noticed. I took the POV and switched it around a bit, and used time as my advantage to make the narrative a bit more interesting. Hope you liked it.

Originally, this story was suppose to be a happy story and, if you read closely, it was, until the end. Their was no drama, no evil, no threatening presence or looming danger that shadowed over Hikari and Takeru. It was suppose to end happily ever after. But I couldn't help myself. What can I say, I'm a person who enjoys twists. Still, despite not ending it the way I planned, I still met the requirement; they came to realize they loved each other. But I never said they would end up together.

At first, I intended to leave his as a one-stand fanfic but that was also when I intended on ending it happily. So, with this somewhat sad finish, I leave myself some room to actually come back to this story and further build on it. A sequel maybe? Probably. So for you people who are upset with the ending, don't worry. It won't end here.

Now that I am done for now, I have debated whether to continue to focus on the Digimon universe or whether to enter the Final Fantasy world where many of my favorite characters live in. Regardless of my decision, I guarantee readers I will write more Digimon fanfic in the near future.

My next new Digimon story will no doubt be different from this story. It will be much darker, much more intense, and will require more thinking than this one. I am very interested in the whole Dark Ocean plot and would seriously consider writing about it or at least use the setting in some form of fashion. While this plot had very few twists and surprises, I assure readers that I am not some one-dimensional writer that cannot spice up things. My next story will have many cliff-hangers and will not be as predictable as this one.

Speaking of predictability, I admit this story, from the start, was very predictable. But I made it intentionally so. Like I said before, it was straightforward and not meant to be much of a mind-twister. But now, with my creativity up and my mind ready for more difficult writing, I will continue to make my plots more interesting.

Well, that is all I have to say. I really hope everyone liked what I did. Again, reviews are extremely touching to me and I read them with whole-heartedness. Thank you for taking time in reading my babblings; you are truly a committed reader.

WolfxRider


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